All Defined benefit articles – Page 177

  • News

    Strong covenants offer schemes more slack on investment risk

    2016-01-14T00:00:00Z

    Schemes with strong employer covenants could find it easier to take on more investment risk, experts have said, in light of the Pensions Regulator’s increased focus on integrated risk management.

  • Features

    MyCSP fact-find leads to unexpected flurry of member engagement

    2016-01-13T00:00:00Z

    Civil Service Pension Scheme inadvertently prompted nearly half of its members to explore their pension entitlements after it carried out a survey as part of a wide-ranging engagement project, aimed at ensuring all members are informed about their benefits.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Bank error slows Shell pension payments to members

    2016-01-13T00:00:00Z

    A Bacs processing error at Royal Bank of Scotland last week caused delays in pension payments to 30,000 members of oil giant Shell’s UK defined benefit schemes.

  • Robot race
    Features

    Entering the matrix: Taking pension tech to the next level

    2016-01-11T00:00:00Z

    Any other business: Apple’s string of acquisitions over recent months are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence in the drive to get closer to consumers – but where does the pensions industry rank in the digital journey?

  • News

    Burgeoning buyout arena threatens pricing, schemes urged to prepare

    2016-01-11T00:00:00Z

    The growing number of players in the UK buyout market may, counterintuitively, make it more difficult for pension schemes to get quotations from insurers, industry experts have said.

  • Opinion

    A year of many firsts lies ahead

    2016-01-08T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: Happy new year! It started with a bang – a stock market slump, circuit breakers suspending trading in China, China suspending the circuit breakers, and the FTSE falling sharply on Monday and Thursday last week.

  • Northern Ireland police
    News

    NI police pension payment glitch puts spotlight on admin

    2016-01-08T00:00:00Z

    A technical error at the Police Service of Northern Ireland pension scheme has caused a delay in the payment of pensions to 12,000 former police officers and dependants.

  • A decade of UK pension asset allocation
    News

    Asset derisking could leave a funding gap

    2016-01-07T00:00:00Z

    UK defined benefit pension schemes have removed nearly half of their funding level risk over the past decade, but new research has questioned whether asset derisking has gone too far.

  • News

    NI government offers early retirement to teachers aged 55+

    2016-01-06T00:00:00Z

    The Department of Education in Northern Ireland has approved a £33.1m scheme offering premature retirement terms to members over 55 years old to make space for new hires in the workforce.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Siemens issues resolution to prevent trapped surplus

    2016-01-05T00:00:00Z

    Siemens, one of the world's largest electrical companies, is allowing its defined benefit scheme to make payments to the sponsoring employer, as schemes scramble to maintain their ability to prevent trapped surplus.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Testing market conditions greet 2016

    2016-01-05T00:00:00Z

    Market volatility is here to stay, experts have said, urging defined benefit trustees to assess their risk management frameworks and eliminate unintended exposures as the year kicks off.

  • Features

    Market trends shaping liability management in 2016

    2015-12-22T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit pension schemes across the UK struggled with soaring liabilities in 2015, but industry experts have warned against a 2016 ‘bet on interest rates’ in what could be a bumper year for tackling risk.

  • Joanne Segars
    Opinion

    After an eventful five years, the pensions challenge is not over

    2015-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Talking Head: Joanne Segars from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association looks at what has happened in the pensions world over the past five years and what lies ahead.

  • Getty Images
    News

    Low for longer (but longing for higher) rates

    2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: The US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to push rates up may mark the end of an era, but investment experts say UK pension funds should expect little more than a small amount of volatility as a result.

  • News

    LGPS under fire on costs to members

    2015-12-17T00:00:00Z

    Reporting and cost disclosure across the Local Government Pension Scheme must become more transparent, experts have said, as a new report highlights wide disparity in the levels of charges passed on to scheme members.

  • Features

    Secondhand annuity market takes shape but risk of poor deals looms

    2015-12-16T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: The government has confirmed it will soften the tax hit for those looking to take advantage of the secondary annuity market, but some experts are concerned the financial services industry holds all the cards in getting the best deal.

  • News

    Just over half of LGPS have procedures for legal breaches

    2015-12-11T00:00:00Z

    A little over half of public sector pension schemes have procedures set up to handle breaches of law, but experts have said scheme governance is improving markedly among local government pension schemes.

  • Illustration by Ben Jennings
    Opinion

    An outstanding year for pensions…

    2015-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: And by that I mean we’re coming to the end of 2015 with several gargantuan issues left outstanding, hanging over the heads of schemes and providers.

  • Features

    Three ways to trim your liabilities in 2016

    2015-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Analysis: While many defined benefit schemes have yet to explore ways to provide enhanced flexibility to members, there are three key strategies in this area that could ease the pressure of mounting liabilities in 2016.

  • News

    GMP reconciliation: Digging up the bodies

    2015-12-09T00:00:00Z

    With the arrival of the new state pension and the end of contracting out, schemes have until 2018 to clean up their act on guaranteed minimum pensions data, but they need to get in the queue by April.