All Defined benefit articles – Page 179
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News
Pension dashboard could 'fail in its objective'
Pension dashboards enabling savers to view their retirement assets in one place are set to become a reality, but commentators have questioned how they will be funded and some fear they could do “more harm than good”.
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Opinion
How to take advantage of medically underwritten bulk annuities
Insuring members of a defined benefit scheme through a bulk annuity can appear expensive when compared with the value of liabilities on a scheme funding or an accounting basis.
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Features
Smiths Group claws back deficit after 8-year fight
Technology and engineering conglomerate Smiths Group has reported a significant improvement in the funding position of its defined benefit pension schemes after pursuing a stringent eight-year derisking campaign.
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FeaturesAG Barr girds funding journey via asset-backed move
Irn-Bru owner AG Barr’s pension scheme deficit deteriorated by £18.4m in the year to January, but it anticipates key manoeuvres including an asset-backed funding plan will support its long-term funding position.
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News
LDI: Should schemes hedge now or ride it out?
News Analysis: Pension schemes wanting to derisk through liability-driven investment are faced with the conundrum of whether to hedge now or hope for rates to finally rise.
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Opinion
Where next for scheme accounting measures?
At the start of this century Professor David Tweedie, former chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, overhauled the shaky foundations that underpinned existing actuarial assumptions.
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News
Defying criticism: The other burden of being a lay trustee
Any Other Business: Lawyers, actuaries, professional trustees. The world of pensions is so full of highly specialised roles it can seem bizarre so much of the decision-making comes down to elected trustees who may have no experience with pensions.
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Opinion
Freedom for all: Why DB should have access to pension flexibility
Pension freedoms were announced with great fanfare in the chancellor’s autumn statement in 2014 and came into effect in April 2015.
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NewsPPF: 'Steady as she goes' approach for 2016/17 levy
The Pension Protection Fund has revised down its aggregate levy requirement for 2016/2017 but has urged schemes to continue to focus on risk reduction.
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OpinionWhy the pension consultancy market is a true oligopoly
From the blog: “Investment consultants have contributed to the poor performance of UK employer-backed pension funds by offering the same advice at the same time,” asserted a recent article in the Financial Times. And I could not agree more.
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FeaturesMorrisons delivers £150m property assets to secure scheme funding
Supermarket chain Morrisons has transferred a further £150m worth of property into an asset-backed funding vehicle in a bid to improve security for its pension scheme.
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News
PPF-plus compromise deals expected to rise
‘Compromise’ deals designed to secure benefits above lifeboat levels could increase over the next couple of years, as deficit reduction pressures continue to squeeze schemes and their sponsors’ balance sheets.
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NewsGranada appeal threatens contingent asset arrangements
Broadcaster Granada is appealing a High Court ruling in an attempt to recover £40m of gilts from one of its pension schemes, but lawyers say the case could jeopardise other employers’ non-cash contributions.
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News
Airport owner puts LGPS membership under review in cost-cutting drive
The owner of Durham Tees Valley Airport is undertaking a review of the aviation hub's membership of Teesside Pension Fund and overall benefits structure in a wider push to curb company losses.
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OpinionKissing goodbye to complexity
From the blog: How many readers of this would travel to New York by boat?
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FeaturesDealing with firebrands on scheme boards
Any Other Business: Jeremy Corbyn romped to victory in the Labour leadership campaign over the weekend, prompting widespread resignations from senior party members unwilling to work under the left-wing veteran backbencher.
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OpinionFour problems with today’s LDI strategies
We must fight to keep hold of the fundamental meaning of liability-driven investment in order to identify cost-effective ways of investing with a true liability focus.
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FeaturesGreenwich charts course to diversified alternatives
A radical change in investment strategy is underway at the Royal Borough of Greenwich Pension Fund, as it introduces new asset buckets for diversified alternatives and multi-asset strategies.
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NewsThe Pensions Trust reboots website in response to new rules
The Pensions Trust has relaunched its website with more tools and information for members, employers and advisers, as schemes look for ways to engage members amid an increasingly complex pensions landscape.
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News
S.Yorks misses deadline as admin woes heap pressure on LGPS
Teething issues following an administration overhaul at South Yorkshire Pensions Authority has delayed the delivery of members’ annual statements, amid a challenging backdrop of wider fundamental reform across the Local Government Pension Scheme.