All Defined benefit articles – Page 169
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Features
Comet scheme enters alternatives space
In a bid to improve diversification and returns, the Comet Pension Scheme has added alternatives to its portfolio, as rising deficits and the current economic environment prompt many pension funds to hunt for yield.
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News
TPR uses lesser-known power to move scheme into the PPF
The Pensions Regulator has used its voidable modification powers to move a scheme attached to an insolvent employer into the Pension Protection Fund, it reported this week.
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Features
Stagecoach tightens governance reins with scheme merger
Stagecoach Group has merged one of its smaller pension plans with its £1.3bn defined benefit scheme, but the company has maintained a separate section for the smaller fund, keeping liabilities separate while potentially sharing some costs.
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Features
DWP silence on GMPs blocks Smiths implementation
Two UK defined benefit schemes operated by technology company Smiths Group have said they will implement guaranteed minimum pension equalisation but need further clarification from the Department for Work and Pensions to do so.
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Opinion
Unpacking the proposed DB bill
Aries Insight’s Ian Neale gives us a primer on the defined benefit bill proposed by Frank Field MP, which promises to set a path for how the contentious issues will be tackled.
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News
Select committee inquiry: What should change to safeguard DB?
As the deadline for submitting views on defined benefit to the Work and Pensions Committee has passed, experts say there is a need for greater flexibility, potential benefit reductions and increased powers for the Pensions Regulator.
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Features
RBS scheme diversifies with US life settlements
The RBS Pension Scheme has made a number of new investments as part of its long-term plan to diversify its portfolio.
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News
Questions surround Bernard Matthews sale as PPF prepares to step in
Turkey producer Bernard Matthews has gone into administration, with the pension scheme expected to enter the Pension Protection Fund assessment period, but questions remain as to why the scheme was allowed to fail.
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Features
Employers congregate to solve Baptist scheme deficit
The Baptist Union of Great Britain has established an employer group to develop a strategy for plugging the scheme’s increased deficit.
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Features
PPF deficit figures presage hard times for funding and dividends
Analysis: Following the Pension Protection Fund’s news of yet another record deficit in defined benefit pensions, many schemes can expect to gear up for challenging funding negotiations, amid growing fears for company dividends.
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News
British Steel pensions rule change proposals shelved
The government has reportedly put aside plans to change pensions legislation that would allow Tata Steel UK’s pension scheme to stay out of the Pension Protection Fund, according to insiders briefed on the issue.
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Features
Shell becomes latest scheme to push electronic comms
The Shell Contributory Pension Fund has begun requesting email addresses from members as it takes the first step towards electronic communication, the latest in a long line of schemes to do so.
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Features
Royal Mail diversifies alternatives ahead of planned scheme closure
The Royal Mail Pension Plan has diversified the alternatives investments in its portfolio, adding new private debt and infrastructure funds, while almost eliminating its exposure to equities in one of its sections.
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Opinion
IRM: Nouvelle cuisine or sing a song of sixpence?
As integrated risk management has become the way of approaching defined benefit, Lincoln Pensions’ Richard Farr asks if the industry needs to change to be able to deliver it.
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Features
Invensys swaps linkers for nominal in hunt for cash flow
The Invensys Pension Scheme has extended its commitment to fixed rate gilts, as low portfolio risk and a strong covenant allowed the £4.9bn scheme to weather worsening conditions in the broader UK industry.
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News
HMRC buys more time on EU VAT issue
HM Revenue & Customs has delayed its guidance on alternative solutions for employers seeking to recover value added tax on defined benefit pension administration costs, prompting speculation that a decision will not be made until Brexit negotiations advance further.
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Features
Nilgosc turns to low vol equities
The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee has made a £300m allocation to low volatility global equities in an effort to reduce overall risk while closing its funding gap.
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Opinion
What we can learn from the success of Team GB
Redington’s Rob Gardner looks at the factors that make great teams great – and offers an example from the pension fund arena.
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Opinion
Data crunch: Small schemes, small problems?
Spence Johnson’s Magnus Spence asks why small pension schemes, which closed to accrual earlier than their larger peers, are slower to derisk.
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Features
CAF exits multi-employer scheme to set up own fund
The Charities Aid Foundation has withdrawn from a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan and established a new DB scheme, removing its exposure to other employers’ pension liabilities.