Mext week we will start to publish in print, and later online, a roundtable discussion on exchange traded funds and the role that they can play in pension scheme portfolios.

Many congratulations to all the winners of this year's 15th annual Pension and Investment Provider Awards, and thank you to all who came to the evening at the Sheraton Park Lane on May 21.

Editor's blog: Labour's former shadow pensions minister Rachel Reeves, now shadow work and pensions secretary, has made the opposition's most substantial pledge yet on workplace pensions – to reduce the lower eligibility threshold from £10,000 to £5,772.

This would return the policy to its original Labour formulation of tying the lower limit to the lower earnings limit for national insurance, to bring another 1.5m people into workplace pensions.

The coalition government has instead linked in to the PAYE tax threshold, which has increased as it has taken more lower earners out of tax.

Labour hinted at reversing this in its 2012 policy paper, 'Pensions people can trust':

Source: Labour.org.uk

Speaking at the 2014 Confederation of British Industry pensions conference in January, pensions minister Steve Webb addressed the issues arising from an NI link.

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The trend away from equities is inevitable for many schemes, making it a matter of when, not if, they increase their bond holdings to reduce risk and cover a maturing membership.

When will institutional investor sentiment towards Africa pass the tipping point from outside bet to portfolio mainstay?

Transport operator FirstGroup has seen its online engagement more than double since before auto-enrolment following a tailored, multimedia communication exercise last year to educate its 30,000-plus employees on pensions.

First off, thank you to all those who attended our Leadership of DC Pensions event last week. You can read a review of the day in tweets, pictures and comments on our new blog at pensions-expert.com/the-cut.

Editor's blog: This morning, pension decision-makers and policymakers came for the first ever Leadership of DC Pensions summit, presented by #FTLive, to debate the challenges facing defined contribution pension schemes.

The day kicked off with pensions minister Steve Webb (@stevewebb1) trying to draw the various strands of government pensions policy – from inertia-driven auto-enrolment to the new retirement flexibilities – into a coherent philosophy.

Delegates were particularly attentive to the guidance guarantee, and the burden it would place on those running DC schemes, but Webb was keen to stress that the face-to-face aspect of the guidance would be a right rather than an obligation.

"Many people might choose to get their information in other ways," he told delegates.

I don't see [the guidance guarantee] as a threat to the industry, I see it as an opportunity- Steve Webb #dcleadership #FTlive

— Tom Dines (@TomDines) May 7, 2014

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The great advice versus guidance debate of 2014 is gathering apace. Let us step back for a moment and consider it from the viewpoint of the person on the Clapham omnibus.