Latest articles from Sarah Cowburn

The Weekly Wrap: May 22 edition

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A round-up of the week's pension stories from across the FT Group, from auto-enrolment requirements driving the development of a childcare black market, to HMRC tightening the rules on Aussie qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes.

Hutton: Transparency, efficiency and investment must improve in LGPS

NAPF Local Authority Conference 2015: Lord Hutton has called on local government schemes to tackle inefficiency and effectiveness ahead of a public sector squeeze.

Merseyside impressed by smart beta, strategy not a 'silver bullet'

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NAPF Local Authority Conference 2015: Merseyside Pension Fund has reported a positive performance from its smart beta equity allocation, while experts pointed to the barriers in using such strategies in fixed income investing.

Solvency scrutiny rumbles on in Europe with stress-testing

The resilience of UK pension schemes will be put to the test over coming months as Europe pursues its solvency and disclosure programme, though some have questioned who will bear the costs. 

Cutting scheme costs in lean times

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Any other business: Whitehall braced itself for a further 100,000 job losses over the next five years, as the new government announced cost-cutting measures across the civil service this week.

Industry calls on Altmann to press pause

Altmann Ros (teaser)

Industry experts have called for a period of consolidation across the pensions landscape as Ros Altmann takes on the role of pensions minister under the new Conservative regime.

Employers probe external vehicles to facilitate drawdown

Employers have been looking at a range of non trust-based drawdown solutions, say consultants, as trustee interest in providing flexi-access to members remains low.

The Weekly Wrap: May 15 edition

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A round-up of the week's pension stories from across the FT Group, from Chicago's pension deficit turning the city's bonds to junk, to US banks stepping up the fight against a clean-up of the nation's retirement advice industry.

Retirement adequacy slips down DC agendas

DC consultants have called for a refocus on retirement adequacy as new figures show two-thirds of employers prioritise compliance requirements over traditional benefit drivers.

How to prepare your portfolio for a rise in transfer requests

Defined benefit schemes should review the shape of their liability profile and consider their investments should a high proportion of members transfer out, as figures show a sharp rise in requests.