All indexation articles – Page 4
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News
Barnardo's scheme loses Supreme Court RPI appeal
On the go: Children's charity Barnardo's may not change the inflation protection it provides to members of its defined benefit scheme, the Supreme Court has ruled.
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NewsSupreme Court: Barnardo's wording does not allow RPI/CPI switch
The Supreme Court’s rejection of an attempt by Barnardo’s to downgrade its pension increases is a reminder that courts are unlikely to bend rules to accommodate the commercial needs of defined benefit sponsors, according to legal experts.
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News
PPF to top up pensions to 50% ahead of legislation
On the go: The Pension Protection Fund is to begin topping up the benefits of members whose compensation has fallen below half of their original entitlement “as quickly as possible”, after a European court found its current payment structure unlawful.
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News
PPF must not cut pensions by more than half, EU court rules
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the cap imposed on benefits paid by the Pension Protection Fund is unlawful when it reduces the payments made to a saver by more than half.
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News
Dromey: Government can use HPE contracts for pensioner justice
The shadow pensions minister has called on ministers to leverage lucrative contracts it awards to Hewlett Packard Enterprise to persuade the company to protect pensioners who are seeing their benefits eroded by inflation.
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OpinionWhat to consider before agreeing a switch to CPI
The appropriateness of the retail price index has been increasingly challenged in recent years, according to Hymans Robertson’s Alistair Russell-Smith, but around three quarters of the UK’s 6,000 defined benefit schemes still link their annual pension increases to RPI.
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NewsThales case shines light on power of scheme rules
A High Court case involving Thales and trustees of its pension scheme has concluded it cannot move from the retail price index to the consumer price index for some benefits, highlighting how the wording in a scheme’s rules dictates the measure of inflation that is used.
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News
TPR gets stronger, the government weaker: Top 5 law and regulation stories from 2017
Year in review: If the UK government’s all-consuming struggle to strike a beneficial Brexit deal can bring any relief to pensions professionals, it is that departments have not had time for the pensions tinkering so despised by the industry.
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Features
De La Rue cuts pension increases to ease funding pressures
Trustees of the De La Rue defined benefit pension scheme have agreed to cut inflation-proofing on member benefits, wiping an estimated £70m off the security specialist’s accounting deficit.
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OpinionShould s67 be repealed?
Ian Neale from policy specialists Aries Insight looks at the recent debate around indexation, revaluation and section 67.
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News
DB white paper will be published in winter
The Department for Work and Pensions will consider giving further “proactive” powers to the Pensions Regulator and examine the case for consolidation, in a long-awaited white paper on defined benefit to be published in the winter.
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News
Pensions Institute: Relax DB promises to tackle PPF drift
Stressed schemes and employers should be allowed to reduce pension increases and gain easier access to Pension Protection Fund-plus benefit-restructuring methods in order to minimise “PPF drift”, a new academic paper has said.
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NewsWilletts: Narrow green paper fails on intergenerational equality
Conservative peer Lord Willetts has spoken out against the scope of the Government’s green paper consultation on defined benefit pensions, criticising its lack of regard for intergenerational fairness.
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OpinionWhat we can learn from recent legal cases
Trustees have to tread carefully when considering changes to their scheme, says James Bingham from law firm Sackers.
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OpinionRPI needn't be a rule
Editorial: The closure of the defined benefit green paper consultation falls on a Sunday, but it is yet to be revealed if the outcome will be a wedding or a funeral.
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News
Industry divided over retrospective changes to pensions
Nearly half of pensions professionals and scheme representatives believe that retrospective changes to pensions promises should be allowed, according to a recent survey, suggesting growing concern over the level of defined benefit liabilities.
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OpinionPLSA: Regulator should provide protections on index switching
The Pension and Lifetime Savings Association’s defined benefit policy team recently took to the road to hear what members thought of the proposals outlined in the government’s green paper on ‘Security and sustainability in defined benefit schemes’ and our recent report on superfunds.
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OpinionTime for more infrastructure incentives
Talking Head: Infrastructure assets offer a strong alternative to index-linked gilts but pension funds need more encouragement from the top, says PIP’s Mike Weston.
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News
DB schemes face crunch on index-linked corporate debt
A tightening in the supply of index-linked US corporate bonds may lead to UK pension schemes facing increased difficulty when derisking their portfolios, industry experts have said.
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Opinion
Nationwide, Strathclyde and British Coal among top five 2014 investment stories
Ditching hedge funds, the rise of responsible investment and the growing success of property mandates have all featured in a tricky year for UK pension fund investment.