Josephine Cumbo
OpinionGuidance needs stronger nudges to prevent future disaster
We are fond of a good nudge in this country.
OpinionTPR sets dangerous precedent with AE breathing space
The pandemic has prompted some jaw-dropping actions from both government and regulators.
OpinionUK avoids Australia’s Covid-19 pensions trap
What can we learn from how governments around the world have responded to the coronavirus pandemic?
OpinionIGCs let savers down with impunity
In an earlier column for Pensions Expert, I asked whether independent governance committees were up to the job of looking after the interests of millions of workplace pension savers.
OpinionTrustees must face hard governance truths after Covid shake-up
Our daily lives will inevitably change once the Covid-19 crisis is over.
OpinionRegulator striking the right balance on deficit holidays
Coronavirus is turning the world upside down for pension trustees. Prior to the crisis, trustees were being pushed to take a tougher line by demanding employers plough more cash into their defined benefit plans.
OpinionPension protections must not be victims of coronavirus
The coronavirus outbreak has had an unprecedented impact on the pensions sector.
OpinionGMP equalisation: Was it worth it?
Equality is a noble principle. But try applying this concept to pensions and you get all sorts of complications and perverse outcomes.
OpinionFCA’s response to transfer scandal too little, too late
Recent revelations that the City watchdog has concerns about the majority of the £80bn market for providing pension transfer advice in the UK have triggered shock and anger across the industry. Quite rightly too.
OpinionAre IGCs up to challenge of new duties?
Last year came to an end with the Financial Conduct Authority taking steps to expand the role of governance committees charged with looking after the pensions of millions of workplace savers in the UK.
OpinionElection policies we need but probably won’t get
With the next general election less than five weeks away, the main political parties are busily drawing up their policy pledges to win over voters.
OpinionIt is time for the industry to face up to its data problems
Poor record-keeping has long been the elephant in the room in the pensions sector.
OpinionRegulator still sparing AE breach employers’ blushes
When it comes to bad bosses not doing the right thing by their staff, the Pension Regulator likes to talk tough.
OpinionWho will protect us from slow-footed regulators?
I was not working as a journalist in the late 1980s when the last big personal pension scandal broke, but the spectre of this mis-selling debacle has loomed large over the financial services sector for three decades.
OpinionThe mirage of independence
What does independence mean to you? Does it mean being free of control or influence by third parties? Does it mean making decisions without fear or favour?
OpinionFirst superfund transfers will put trustee decisions under spotlight
Proper rules and regulations to protect members of defined benefit pension schemes transferred to new ‘superfund’ consolidators are yet to be set out.
OpinionPensions taper is bad medicine for the NHS and should be ditched
The sound of tiny violins can often be heard when the better off complain about yet another cut to their pensions tax relief.
OpinionUSS dispute has exposed a transparency deficit
Brexit may be inflaming passions across the country, but away from the headlines an equally heated debate has been raging among scheme advisers, managers and members over the serious matter of how to value pensions.
OpinionTrustees must go the extra mile for their members on transfers
Trustees are often caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to defined benefit transfers.