With some hard work and careful planning, schemes could recoup sizeable rebates as a result of pension tax changes.

The industry has welcomed the pensions watchdog’s clarification on trustees’ duties around the new flexibilities, but some are concerned scheme administrators will face capacity issues around rising transfer value requests.

The government has revealed further detail on its long-awaited federated model for pension consolidation, as it moves to take the infrastructure development process to the next stage.

Around two-thirds of defined benefit schemes worth more than £1bn are exploring derisking strategies, according to research, with climbing deficits and product innovation seen as key drivers.

Lancashire Pension Fund has moved deeper into non-investment grade credit and emerging market debt, aiming to ride out volatility, as it seeks return in a low-yield environment.

Defined contribution schemes were hit with a slew of regulation last week across contract-based and trust-based provision, as the government and the City watchdog attempt to unify standards in these two areas.

The growing mastertrust sector has created a range of investment benchmarks, but pressure to demonstrate value has led consultants to call for more focus on performance yardsticks that reflect scheme memberships.

Any other business: Pension funds have been warned not to let asset class silos and investment management benchmarks distract from the overall strategy.

Consultants have called for increased efforts to break down the complexities of auto-enrolment for smaller employers as data from the Regulator revealed a sharp increase in non-compliance actions in the final three months of last year.

Defined contribution experts have cautiously welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority’s intervention on a second line of defence for retiring scheme members, but saw upheaval ahead for trust-based schemes.