All Defined benefit articles – Page 199
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News
Axa ups benefit in final deal on DB scheme closure
Axa has confirmed it will close its UK defined benefit scheme from next month following a review, with current members receiving additional pension payments under the final agreement.
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News
Chiltern funds target £2.5m merger saving
Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire councils are in preliminary talks about merging their pension funds in an attempt to save £2.5m a year, as more local authority schemes club together to reduce costs.
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News
Making good your scheme's common data shortfall
News analysis: The Pensions Regulator's annual record-keeping survey, released earlier this week, demonstrated a lack of awareness among smaller schemes of their data obligations, but also contained hints about how to repair administrative faults.
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News
Two in five schemes use multi-asset to fight volatility
Data analysis: The use of multi-asset products has increased as schemes look to mitigate market volatility with the product, which promises equity-like returns with downside protection, investment data show.
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News
Pension contributions illustrate DB/DC divide
Data analysis: Employer contribution rates are on the rise in defined contribution schemes but are still significantly lower than defined benefit employer contributions, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
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News
Environment Agency to revamp SRI gameplan
The Environment Agency Active Pension Fund has said it is seeking “new and innovative ideas” on sustainable equity investment in a bid to lead best practice in the area while driving forward its responsible investment strategy.
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News
How schemes can manage cash flows
Schemes are being advised to reconsider investments as almost a third of defined benefit pension schemes expect to be cash flow negative this year, a survey has found.
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News
Isle of Wight disinvests equities to pursue DGF approach
Isle of Wight Pension Fund is removing 15 per cent of its allocation to UK equities and redirecting it into a diversified growth fund in an effort to maintain performance and lower volatility.
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News
Small schemes offered off-the-peg buyouts to speed up derisking
Small schemes will be offered standarised buyouts to decrease the time and cost associated with bespoke bulk annuity purchases, a model that has gained popularity in the buy-in market.
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News
How accounting changes hit your balance sheet
News analysis: New accounting principles have increased sponsors' focus on the expense of operating a defined benefit scheme and the risk it poses to future cash flows, as companies prepare interim reports under the new regime.
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News
Royal British Legion to expand Pie after £1m saving
The Royal British Legion is working on a pension increase exchange offer for members coming up to retirement, after an exercise with the scheme’s pensioners last year knocked £1m off its deficit.
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News
Derbyshire reduces auto-enrolment comms burden
Derbyshire County Council has taken steps to reduce its auto-enrolment communication costs, from record-cleansing to communicating through employers, as local authority schemes look to manage the cost of the reform.
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News
Gilt investment reaches post-crisis peak at £22bn
Schemes have ramped up their investment in gilts and index-linked gilts over the past couple of years in an attempt to shore up their pension promises, data from the Office for National Statistics have shown.
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Features
Bedfordshire offers representation for academies
Bedfordshire Pension Fund has decided to offer academies “observer” status on its pension committee, with the schools representing a growing and increasingly scrutinised proportion of local authority scheme membership.
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News
Wind-up: avoiding union and member backlash
Winding up defined benefit schemes or changing members’ benefits has become a working reality for some management teams, as employers decide to cut costs and offload risks in a tough environment for scheme funding.
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News
Lothian to reduce 'suboptimal' market cap exposure
The Lothian Pension Fund is to reduce its reliance on market capitalisation-based equity indices and increase investment in global portfolios, in order to boost performance and reduce volatility for members.
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News
SPC: Pot-follows-member a 'breeding ground' for fraud
The government’s pot-follows-member proposals threaten to “overstretch” the industry and expose members to greater risk of pension liberation fraud, if introduced at the peak of auto-enrolment in 2014, the Society of Pension Consultants has warned.
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Opinion
Why 'healthy' life expectancy matters to members
Longevity has rooted itself as a near-intractable problem for sponsors of defined benefit pension schemes while at the same time being an apparently good-news story for everyone else.
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News
Three out of four schemes to mitigate volatility
The use of volatility-reducing strategies has increased as schemes look to dampen the impact of current market conditions on portfolios, according to investment data.
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News
Wandsworth eyes collective investment lead
Wandsworth Council Pension Fund has set its sights on leading a London-wide collective investment vehicle to drive down costs, rather than a forced merger, pensions committee documents have revealed.