All Defined benefit articles
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Opinion
The Friday Takeaway: Pay your pensions administrator some attention!
With Pension Awareness Week upon us, Nick Reeve looks at a crucial part of the pensions industry that is finally getting the positive attention it needs.
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News
Trustees to shoulder more responsibility for admin improvements, TPR says
The regulator has published a report based on 12 months of engagement with leading administrators and set out areas of strength and challenges that need addressing.
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News
SPP pushes for bill amendment to scrap PPF admin levy
Liberal Democrat MPs Steve Darling and John Milne have tabled the amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill, aimed at ensuring the PPF can pay costs from its existing reserves rather than charging defined benefit pension schemes.
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News
Bulk annuities latest: Royal London completes 10th buy-in of the year
Rounding up the latest activity in the bulk annuity market, including Rothesay’s double buy-in for a manufacturing company and two sub-£5m pension schemes insured by Just Group.
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News
Consultants ramp up governance services for DB schemes
Barnett Waddingham and Hymans Robertson are the latest consultancies to add to the menu of options for defined benefit pension schemes.
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News
Pre-Budget rumours spark record lump sum withdrawals, data shows
UK pension savers withdrew a record £10.4bn from their pensions using their tax-free cash allowance in the six months to the end of March, according to Financial Conduct Authority data.
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In Depth
Amendment Watch: What changes are being proposed to the Pension Schemes Bill?
More than 270 amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill have been put forward for consideration by the parliamentary committee scrutinising the draft legislation. Pensions Expert looks at some of the most significant proposals.
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News
Government seeks to mitigate Virgin Media issue with Pension Schemes Bill amendments
Trade bodies, including the representative groups for actuaries and pension lawyers, have been lobbying the Department for Work and Pensions for months in relation to the issue, which relates to the interpretation of section 37 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993.
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News
Bulk annuities latest: Aviva and Just secure buy-ins worth combined £205m
Pensions Expert rounds up the latest bulk annuity deals, including a perfume company’s scheme and a double buy-in for accountancy and consultancy firm BDO.
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News
Retailer escapes regulatory intervention with ‘proactive’ action on PPF-bound scheme
The owner of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill chain collaborated with trustees and the regulator to secure a £7m cash injection and lift the scheme out of the PPF’s assessment process.
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News
Scotland’s public finance minister to give keynote speech at DB Strategic Summit
Ivan McKee will explore how the Scottish government is seeking to enhance its partnership with investors and make Scotland a more attractive place for investment.
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News
Competition boosting endgame options for small schemes, research shows
Sub-£100m deals made up the majority of transactions completed in the first half of 2025, continuing a trend from 2024, according to a report from Aon.
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News
Tech giant ABB completes £700m buy-in with Aviva to reduce pension risk
Aviva has secured technology company ABB’s UK pension scheme through a £700m buy-in covering more than 7,000 members.
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Videos
Video: Sophia Singleton on pension reforms, adequacy, and inclusion
Having recently passed the halfway mark in her presidency of the Society of Pension Professionals, Sophia Singleton looks back on a busy initial period and ahead to the challenges and opportunities facing the pensions sector.
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News
Discretionary increases fall as inflation drops from 2022 peak
Fewer defined benefit pension schemes are offering discretionary increases, research shows, even as the consumer prices index is starting to creep higher.
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Opinion
Assessing covenant reliability in an increasingly unpredictable world
From commercial pressures to tariff troubles, and national insurance hikes to geopolitical volatility, there are myriad issues affecting employer covenants. Vidett’s Mike Birch explores how these interact with the regulator’s new DB Funding Code.
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News
SPP highlights pensions industry apprenticeships as A-level results land
As school students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their A-level results, the Society of Pension Professionals has highlighted a range of apprenticeships offered across the retirement industry.
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News
Just Group secures construction firm’s DB scheme with £23m buy-in
The transaction covers all 249 members of the ROM Group Pension & Life Assurance Scheme, including 124 deferred members and 125 pensioners.
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News
German bank seals £36m buy-in with PIC for DB scheme
The transaction covers all 156 members of the Helaba (London) Pension and Life Assurance Plan, and comes a day after PIC announced its biggest deal of the year.
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News
Rolls-Royce DB scheme fully insured after £4.3bn PIC buy-in
The deal is the biggest single transaction announced this year and follows a 2019 buy-in of a similar size for the Rolls-Royce DB pension scheme.