All Defined benefit articles – Page 176
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OpinionDerisking dead ends
Editorial: If you’re short of gift ideas for your favourite veteran trustee or scheme manager, the Pension Protection Fund’s Purple Book could be a good shout.
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OpinionDB-DC transfers are not always a bad idea
With freedom and choice giving greater access to defined contribution members’ assets, JLT’s Hugh Nolan asks if transfers-out can be seen as positive for defined benefit members.
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News
DB funding pressure rises but scheme closures plateau
Data Analysis: The aggregate funding level of UK defined benefit schemes has deteriorated again despite asset allocation trends moving towards lower-risk investments, but the number of schemes open to new members has stayed level.
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Features
Royal Mail closure plan flags pulldown effect of low rates
The perennial question of whether it is possible to keep defined benefit schemes open to accrual has resurfaced after Royal Mail Group said it could not afford to keep its DB scheme open beyond 2018.
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FeaturesCash flow crisis: How to avoid becoming a forced seller
Sweeping closures of defined benefit schemes across the UK will limit the pain of future liabilities for sponsors, but have created a growing problem many pension funds have been slow to recognise: a cash flow crisis is on the horizon.
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NewsBrewer's 'salami' derisking tactic is no small beer for liabilities
Midlands-based brewer Marston’s has bought in more than a third of its pension scheme liabilities since 2013 through a series of deals aimed at reducing volatility across its long-dated obligations and providing added security for members.
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NewsShire funds ‘keeping options open’ for asset pooling
A group of seven Local Government Pension Scheme funds has appointed a manager to run a joint £6.5bn passive mandate, but funds involved in the arrangement say longer-term plans for pooling are still under discussion.
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News
The Pensions Trust tackles state pension confusion
The Pensions Trust has updated member communications to prepare for the end of contracting out, as research has shown low levels of understanding about the state pension changes.
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News
Tough timescales for asset pooling put LGPS on the spot
The government’s much-anticipated criteria for the reform of Local Government Pension Scheme investment contains few surprises, but industry experts have raised concerns over the tight timescales for funds to prepare and implement complex proposals.
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Features
Shropshire profits from infra but schemes struggle to fill targets
Shropshire County Pension Fund’s infrastructure investment gained 40 per cent during 2014/15, but entry into the asset class remains a challenge for some UK pension funds.
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OpinionWhat difference can switching to CPI make?
Historically, there was only one measure of inflation in the UK – the ubiquitous retail price index. Indeed, the letters RPI became entirely synonymous with the notion of price inflation.
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News
Shared pain, shared gain: Will risk-sharing get its day in the sun?
News Analysis: Collective defined contribution schemes have been put on ice by the pensions minister though the idea could come back on the agenda in the future. But are UK employers ready for risk-sharing?
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News
SPV helps Johnson Matthey reduce deficit by £145m
Johnson Matthey Pension Scheme has reduced its deficit by around £145m after taking a raft of measures to address its funding shortfall, including the creation of an asset-backed contribution vehicle comprised of third-party bonds.
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News
LGPS pooling puts in-house investment in the spotlight
News Analysis: Local authority pension fund pooling activity is gathering pace ahead of an upcoming government consultation on criteria for cutting costs, bringing with it a push towards greater in-house investment capability.
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NewsSmiths uses escrow to help slash £250m from scheme deficit
Technology and engineering conglomerate Smiths Group has signed over its £153m escrow account to its scheme in a deal that demonstrates the positive outcomes that can be achieved through strong trustee and employer collaboration.
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Opinion
How does the use of DGFs differ between DB and DC portfolios?
Roundtable: Aberdeen Asset Management’s Mike Brooks, Aon’s James Monk, Buck Consultants’ Nick Ridgway, Capital Cranfield’s Jonathan Reynolds, LCP’s Kevin Frisby and PTL’s David Hosford, review how DB and DC schemes use DGFs in different ways, in the second part of this roundtable.
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OpinionCharities feel the weight of auto-enrolment and wage hikes
Chancellor George Osborne’s recent announcement that the government wants to bring the living wage to £9 by 2020 will have had many charity finance directors scratching their heads, wondering where the extra income is going to come from.
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Opinion
Data crunch: Annuities market being reshaped, not destroyed
Providers are in talks with the Treasury over how to advance plans for a secondary annuities market.
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News
Methodist Church seeks £25m saving by converting to CPI
The Methodist Church Council is consulting with all scheme members, including existing pensioners, on a proposal to link future pension increases to the consumer price index in an bid to temper the rising cost of defined benefit provision.
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NewsPremier Foods eats away at deficit by more than £570m
Food manufacturing company Premier Foods decimated its IAS 19 deficit to £32.8m from £603.3m since December 2013 thanks to its hedging strategy and a change in discount rates.