Universities UK, the employer group representing 340 Universities Superannuation Scheme members, has raised the prospect of a 20-year moratorium on scheme exits in a bid to show a greater commitment to covenant support.

On the go: The Pensions Administration and Standards Association announced on Tuesday more details about its forthcoming defined contribution transfers working group, which has the goal to speed up and lower the risk of transfers between trust and contract-based DC schemes.

The Pensions Regulator has warned against hasty reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is still “early days” in our understanding of how the virus has impacted longevity and life expectancy assumptions.

Podcast: Brian Henderson, partner and director of consulting at Mercer, and Shola Salako, professional trustee at Dalriada, discuss alternatives to illiquids in defined contribution pension portfolios, putting the S in ESG, and fixing the problems with chair’s statements.

The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund have issued a joint consultation into proposals to change the asset class information TPR collects via the scheme return.

This week – DWP admits failings in DC chair’s statements, concerns over the rise in sole trusteeship, new TPR chair endorsed despite conflict of interest fears, and LCP’s warning over dying DB sector.

On the go: A £6bn longevity swap by an unnamed UK pension scheme and the Prudential Insurance Company of America suggests that insurers’ appetite for longevity risk has not diminished, despite the uncertainty around the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the go: Almost 300 schemes could see their deficits transformed into surpluses after the Pension Protection Fund announced its decision to press ahead with changes to actuarial assumptions.

On the go: The pension schemes of multinational transport company FirstGroup stand to benefit from the £3.3bn sale of its First Student and First Transit assets to private equity company EQT Infrastructure.

The Department for Work and Pensions has acknowledged that the introduction of chair’s statements has failed to meet the policy objectives set out by the department in 2014.