All Defined benefit articles – Page 170
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News
LDI crucial part of portfolio despite low yields, experts say
Schemes must not leave themselves vulnerable to interest rate risk by ignoring seemingly expensive liability-driven investment strategies, according to panellists at a Pensions Expert event on LDI held last week.
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News
British Steel’s proposed changes raise difficult questions
Discrepancies between the government’s recommendations for how BSPS should proceed and the scheme’s proposed alterations to its rules might make reaching a decision about its future on June 23 harder.
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FeaturesMPS mines for income with alternative credit and shipping
The Mineworkers Pension Scheme is hunting for income with new allocations to shipping and special situations debt, alongside increased exposure to private debt and property.
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News
Active debt management key to exploiting bond opportunities
Schemes hunting for cash flow in a record-low gilt yield environment are turning to corporate bonds, emerging markets and active management of their debt portfolios, a study has revealed.
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Opinion
Leadership is needed for the future of DB
The UK’s defined benefit pensions sector has come under growing pressure in recent decades. But events surrounding the likes of BHS and British Steel have brought those issues to the attention of a much wider audience.
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NewsMarket instability tops referendum fears
Negative portfolio returns and prolonged unpredictability are the top concerns potential Brexit raises for pension stakeholders according to a new survey by pensions platform Mallowstreet. However, pensions insiders said these risks should already have started being addressed.
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Opinion
Will PLSA’s DB consultation bolster embattled industry?
From the blog: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has called for evidence to support its Defined Benefit Taskforce, as record-low gilt yields pile yet more pressure on the industry.
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News
Strathclyde adds EMD as cash flow turns negative
Strathclyde Pension Fund has approved a range of investment changes, including up to £300m in emerging market debt and £30m in core UK infrastructure.
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News
Longevity risk anxiety overshadows subtler threats
New research commissioned by investment bank State Street has shown that a quarter of pension professionals consider longevity risk to be the biggest threat to pension schemes, but some say it should not take priority.
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News
Recent pension deficit reductions are unlikely to be sustainable
A survey of FTSE 100 companies’ pension schemes showed that during 2015 the overall pension deficit was reduced by £15bn, mostly by lower salary assumptions and higher discount rates, but experts say the trends responsible for the reduction have now reversed.
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NewsStaveley agrees £73.6m recovery plan
The Staveley Pension Scheme has agreed a new, £73.6m recovery plan with its sponsoring employer after its most recent actuarial valuation found a £100m deficit.
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NewsWhat will British Steel's rule changes mean for pensions?
Experts agree the changes being proposed to the British Steel Pension Scheme will impact salary-related pensions more broadly, but differ on whether the long-term effects will necessarily be negative.
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News
DB schemes' negative cash flow matters, but is not a crisis
A survey by Hymans Robertson has found that 50 per cent of FTSE 350 defined benefit schemes are or soon will be cash flow negative, and that chief financial officers are more worried about forced disinvestment than trustees.
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OpinionBuchanan: How to tackle zombie DB schemes
The Work and Pensions Committee enquiry into the BHS Pension Scheme, coupled with the fate of Tata Steel, once again shines the spotlight on defined benefit pension schemes for all the wrong reasons.
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NewsSwitching BSPS indexation to CPI could set legal precedent
A four-week public consultation on the British Steel Pension Scheme launched by the government this week could pave the way for an indexation switch aimed at significantly reducing Tata Steel’s pension liabilities, which could reverberate across the private sector.
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News
Illiquidity premiums move up agenda, but questions over cash flow remain
The new market liquidity regime will make it harder for pension schemes to access credit, says a new report, which recommends they take steps – in particular, to exploit illiquidity premiums – to protect themselves.
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News
Field’s proposal for scheme deficits bill raises pension cut fears
Former pensions minister Steve Webb has warned that a new bill proposed by Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field to deal with DB deficits – including by introducing flexible benefits – is a “worrying” development that could undermine people’s confidence in the pension system.
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NewsNetwork Rail plans £19m savings following NI cost hike
Network Rail expects to save around £19m annually following a swath of amendments to two of its schemes to mitigate the increased costs of contracting-out cessation, as many schemes either absorb the cost or close.
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News
Nilgosc to allow lump sum contributions
The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee plans to ask for upfront deficit contributions for this year’s LGPS valuation from its employer members as the public sector in Northern Ireland shrinks.
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News
Cash flow is important but not pressing, experts say
For the first time, the Pensions Regulator explicitly included cash flow considerations in its annual funding statement, published last week. Industry insiders welcomed the move, but said the statement has raised other equally important concerns.