All Defined benefit articles – Page 44
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PodcastsPodcast: Schemes struggle to educate members amid cost of living crisis
Podcast: Members should be able to consider dipping into their pensions early to combat the cost of living crisis, but schemes may struggle to educate them about the best means of doing so without giving them advice. Society of Pensions Professionals president Steve Hitchiner is joined by AgeWage chief executive Henry Tapper, founder of the Pension Playpen, to discuss recession fears, consumer protection for dashboards, and expanding long-term asset funds.
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NewsGovt rejects appeal to make NHS scheme tax-unregistered
The government has rejected a petition to make the NHS pension scheme tax-unregistered, arguing that the loss of tax-relief and lump sums “would not benefit the vast majority of members”.
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NewsWest Yorkshire Pension Fund averts recruitment crisis
On the go: The £17.8bn West Yorkshire Pension Fund has made three senior appointments to its in-house investment team in response to ‘critical’ staffing issues that occurred last year. It has also weighed up the risk of handing assets over to external managers in the future.
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NewsUniversity of Dundee staff set for second pensions strike
On the go: Members of the Unite trade union who work at the University of Dundee have agreed to carry out "continuous strike action" for a second time from August 25 over pensions.
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NewsCornish housing association pilots ‘living pension’
On the go: A Cornish housing association is piloting a ‘living pension’ scheme for its employees, building on research that suggests some savers’ pension contributions will need to rise to more than double their current rate.
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NewsCalls for stewardship code to engage members as well as managers
On the go: The Financial Reporting Council’s stewardship code must “look both ways” and engage members as well as asset managers in developing guidance and standards, according to fintech company Tumelo.
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NewsRailpen stands by investment in Chinese government debt
The manager of the Railways Pension Scheme has stood by the scheme's decision to invest in Chinese government bonds in 2021, despite allegations of human rights abuses committed by the country's government.
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NewsScams action group gets six-figure budget to tackle fraud
On the go: The Pension Scams Action Group, a renamed and revamped Project Bloom, is to get a six-figure budget to tackle scams across the next year, with the prospect of more to come.
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NewsUnisys schemes appoint Cardano as fiduciary manager
On the go: The Unisys Pension Scheme, the Unisys Payment Services Pension Scheme (Unisys Section) and the Unisys Public Sector Pension Scheme have appointed Cardano as fiduciary manager.
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NewsPublic sector retirees face higher exit payment scrutiny
Substantial exit payments resulting from pension strain arrangements in the public sector will likely see people nearing retirement having their cases referred to HM Treasury, under a proposed new regime.
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NewsPPF urges trustees to plan for sponsor insolvency
On the go: The Pension Protection Fund is encouraging trustees to have a contingency plan in place for sponsor insolvency, as the PPF 7800 index decreased for the first time is six months.
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NewsWHSmith scheme completes £1bn full buy-in
On the go: The WHSmith Pension Trust has secured a £1bn full buy-in with Phoenix Group subsidiary Standard Life.
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NewsGovt to consult on further LGPS McCloud regulations in 2023
On the go: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is to consult on further regulations governing the application of the McCloud remedy to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
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NewsLGPS responds to Israeli settlements database complaint
The Local Government Pension Scheme’s advisory board has provided an update regarding a database that lists companies active in the occupied Palestinian territories, after the UK Lawyers for Israel criticised the LGPS's summary of a January meeting with the then-UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk.
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NewsWaiting times a problem as demand for Pensions Ombudsman rises
The Pensions Ombudsman has been successful in its application for additional funding, part of which will go towards establishing its new pensions dishonesty unit, and tackling customer waiting times as demand is expected to rise by at least 10 per cent over the next year.
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NewsOmbudsman fines Capita for substandard administration
The Pensions Ombudsman has told Capita to pay £500 to a disgruntled scheme member as its communications “fell below the standards of good administration”, though the member’s substantive complaint was not upheld.
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NewsTruss hints at doctors’ pension fix
On the go: Conservative party leadership candidate Liz Truss has said she will “sort out” the problems with doctors’ pensions in a bid to tackle the staff retention crisis, though she has not yet said how she would go about doing this.
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NewsTaylor Wimpey suspends escrow payments
On the go: Home construction company Taylor Wimpey has suspended escrow payments to its defined benefit pension scheme due to its strong funding position.
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NewsExperts warn schemes of recession and inflation risks after BoE rate rise
The Bank of England has announced its highest rate hike in 27 years, lifting its base rate by 0.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent in a bid to control rising inflation, with warnings of an imminent recession creating fresh challenges for UK pension schemes.
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NewsBMA blasts Sunak role in NHS pensions taxation
The British Medical Association has hit out at Rishi Sunak for changes made during his time as chancellor of the exchequer to the tapered annual allowance of NHS pensions.