Latest articles from Emma Powell

BAE sees four in 10 agree to give up pension increases

BAE Systems Pension Scheme has experienced a 38 per cent take-up of a pension increase exchange offered to pensioner members, in an exercise to reduce its inflation risk.

Employers face increased pension loss payouts after NHS case

Employers may be liable to pay increased compensation relating to pension loss to employees dismissed unfairly, lawyers have warned, after a tribunal appeal found an earlier decision had miscalculated the sum owed to an NHS scheme member.

Nationwide builds inflation hedge, ups matching assets to derisk

Nationwide Pension Fund has reduced its exposure to return-seeking assets and carried out its first significant inflation hedge, as capital adequacy rules drive banking and building society sponsors to reduce funding volatility.

Justifying the fees: How to get value out of your lawyers

Any other business: "The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers." This quote, attributed to Ruth Benedict, could easily be applied to the world of pensions law, where achieving consensus among lawyers is an almost impossible task. 

The Pensions Trust to open doors to private sector DB as employers outsource

The Pensions Trust plans to start accepting private sector employers into the scheme from late October, hoping to attract the growing number of small and medium-sized companies outsourcing the management of defined benefit schemes.

Somerset and Devon tighten shared admin strategy to boost employer comms

Somerset County Council Pension Fund and Devon County Council Fund will establish a formal administration strategy in order to improve communication between the schemes and its participating employers.

Westminster moves towards global equities to free up managers

The City of Westminster Superannuation Fund has decreased its UK equity holdings in favour of global stocks to give managers greater flexibility and boost performance.

Schemes eye forward rates to time hedge moves

Larger schemes are showing greater interest in using forward rather than spot rates to assess whether to increase their interest and inflation hedges, in order to gain a more accurate picture of fair value.

Smaller schemes combine service provision to reduce legacy burden

Leading benefit consultancies have reported more small to medium-sized schemes are bundling services under a single provider in response to a growth in legacy arrangements and to benefit from economies of scale. 

Confronting the scourge of the ever-growing meeting pack

Any other business: Is there a trustee out there that makes it through every page of their meeting bumpf?