All Defined benefit articles – Page 196
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Opinion
Lafarge, Channel 4 and Lloyds feature in the top five derisking stories of 2014
Many schemes worked hard this year to make a dent in their pension fund deficit as liabilities soared, employing methods ranging from simple payment increases to complex recovery plans.
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News
GMP reconciliation to be major 2015 challenge for schemes
Pensions professionals have said guaranteed minimum pension equalisation will be their biggest project in 2015, a survey has shown, as the end of contracting out forces schemes to undertake exercises.
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News
Doncaster takes low-rate £28m loan in novel move to fund scheme
Doncaster council has sought to turn the low interest rate environment to its advantage by taking out £28m in short-term loans to help fund its employer contributions to South Yorkshire Pension Fund.
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Opinion
Cash flow certainty versus closer ties to employer’s fortunes: how to evaluate SLPs
Matthew Ambler from law firm Gordons addresses the drawbacks of using Scottish liability partnerships as part of scheme funding deals.
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News
BT reboots flexible retirement with safety mechanism
BT has reactivated its flexible retirement option following a controversial review, adding a requirement for members to seek advice to ensure they understand its impact on their benefits.
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News
Pennon saves £15m with pensionable pay cap
Utilities company Pennon has become the latest private sector employer to impose a cap on future increases in members’ pensionable pay, saving the company £15m, while installing a voluntary top-up for members.
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News
TPAS: Wave of requests to hit schemes and administrators in April
The Pensions Advisory Service has warned that scheme trustees and administrators risk being overwhelmed in April by members eager to access their savings at the earliest opportunity, having waited a year for the pension freedoms to come into play.
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News
Selex grows surplus to £72m but future costs rise
The £530m Selex Pension Scheme has further grown its funding surplus, but its pensions head is unfazed about overfunding as the interest rate environment has pushed up future service costs.
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News
Webb defends 'revolutionary' CDC legacy against industry critics
Pensions minister Steve Webb told an industry event this week the “pendulum is going to swing back” from individual defined contribution pension provision, but delegates challenged the viability of risk-sharing schemes.
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News
Consultants report evidence of Osborne boost to DB-DC transfers
Consultants have reported an increase in the number of defined benefit to defined contribution transfer requests from scheme members following George Osborne's announcement of greater retirement flexibility in the March Budget.
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Opinion
A good problem to have? Dealing with scheme surpluses
Talking head: The NAPF’s Helen Forrest talks about how the organisation’s better-funded members are dealing with the prospect of scheme surpluses.
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News
Pensions Trust reflects on trustee election after diversity move
The Pensions Trust did not see a bump in engagement in its latest round of trustee elections despite adding online voting, following a controversial decision to take names off the ballot to avoid “unconscious bias” towards male candidates.
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Features
WMPF markets third-party services to neutralise costs
West Midlands Pension Fund plans to market its internal support services to third parties in order to become cost-neutral by offsetting its administration costs.
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Opinion
Regulator: Kodak, UK Coal, and how we work with schemes
Talking head: The Pensions Regulator’s interim chief executive Stephen Soper sets out how it works with employers and schemes on funding, and discusses some high profile recent cases.
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Features
CofE scheme mulls infrastructure diversification to drive returns
The Church of England Pensions Board is considering spreading its infrastructure portfolio outside Europe, following a similar decision to rebalance its property portfolio towards the US and Asia in a hunt for return.
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Features
Lloyds scheme saves £710m with pensionable pay freeze
One of the UK’s ‘big four’ banks Lloyds Banking Group has made a £710m saving by halting pensionable pay increases, as it looks to reduce the cost of its defined benefit arrangement.
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Features
Caterpillar scheme delays derisking over stock volatility concerns
Caterpillar Pension Plan has postponed a decision to cut its equity exposure to increase its liability-driven investment allocation as a result of concerns over stock market volatility.
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News
Union mulls counter proposals to rival USS reforms
The UK's largest trade union for academics is debating whether to submit counter reform proposals for the Universities Superannuation Scheme, as negotiations continue over the future of one of the UK's biggest remaining final salary pension schemes.
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Opinion
Five key charts from the PPF's Purple Book
Flying in the face of almost everything else pensions-related this year, the latest annual edition of the Pension Protection Fund's Purple Book revealed few if any big shocks.
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News
Consultants call for more competition in fiduciary management
Consultants have called for greater competition in the fiduciary management industry as a report indicates few schemes are doing due diligence when appointing a provider.