All Law & regulation articles – Page 125
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News
FCA sounds alarm over unsuitable DB transfer advice
Fewer than half of defined benefit transfer advice processes are “suitable”, according to analysis by the Financial Conduct Authority, raising concerns over the lack of communication between introducing companies and transfer specialists.
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News
PPI: Consider different policy options for self-employed pensions
Policymakers need to consider diverse attitudes and financial circumstances of different self-employed groups before deciding on options to boost pension saving levels, a new report finds.
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Features
Slide towards retail investing faces backlash
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: March 19 2014 marked a seismic change in the UK pensions landscape: from the dispatch box in the House of Commons, future newspaper editor George Osborne announced the removal of the requirement to annuitise defined contribution savings, unlocking a world of possibility for scheme members.
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Features
Wholesale changes to rules are needed to enable DB consolidation
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: Amalgamating defined benefit corporate pension funds could reduce costs, improve investment and make for better governance, but it is still unclear whether full DB consolidation is a chimera or the fix to a fragmented system.
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Features
How will regulation need to change to be fit for the 21st century?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: When the world’s first funded occupational pension plan appeared towards the end of the 16th century in the form of a large iron chest, its success was short-lived.
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FeaturesShould schemes engage in more shareholder activism?
Analysis: Facebook has cancelled its plan to issue a new type of non-voting shares following pressure from investors, but some have said UK pension funds lack the size to exert similar influence.
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FeaturesBetter data flow could transform pensions, but will it?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: A yawning technology gap has long been identified in the sector, but many feel more than the dashboard is needed to drag pensions into the 21 century.
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Opinion
Are the days of the lay trustee numbered?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: For all that is made of the asymmetry of knowledge in the trust-based pension system, anecdotes abound of times when lay trustees have proved their worth.
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Opinion
Bin or bring in – which laws are needed and which have to go?
Pensions Expert 20th Anniversary: We asked five experts to nominate one law or regulation they would scrap, and another they would introduce. This is what they said.
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News
Scottish charities face insolvency as exit debt bites
Community admission bodies in the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme are in the middle of a debt crisis, accountants have said, but ceasing accrual or exiting the LGPS risks triggering unmanageable cessation debt and driving admitted bodies into insolvency.
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NewsFCA forces asset managers to disclose transaction costs
The Financial Conduct Authority continued its transparency reform this week, with the release of a policy statement requiring greater transaction cost disclosure for workplace pensions.
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News
Select committee probes pension freedoms as concerns grow
The Work and Pensions Committee is launching a new inquiry into the pension freedom reforms, asking whether changes are required to better achieve the policy’s objectives.
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News
TPR campaign outlines governance basics
The Pensions Regulator has launched a new campaign directed at trustees and their advisers, as part of a wider push to raise governance standards, but experts say its success relies on collaboration and engagement from all stakeholders.
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NewsRestructuring professionals call for TPR-PPF merger
The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund should be combined into one streamlined entity and be open to restructuring deals involving pensions where insolvency is not imminent within 12 months, according to restructuring professionals.
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NewsCMA begins consultant investigation as FCA calls trustees 'weak'
The Financial Conduct Authority has finalised its referral of the investment consultancy industry to the Competition and Markets Authority, beginning an 18-month period of investigation into conflicts of interest in the sector.
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NewsOxfordshire referred to TPR for a second time
The Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund has received a second referral to the Pensions Regulator after it failed to submit its annual benefit statements on time.
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News
Scams continue to be a threat to members' savings
One in 12 transfers may have been subject to fraudulent activity, a new report has found. The figure has fallen from last year’s corresponding study, which found potential scams in as many as one in nine cases.
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News
Second finance bill provides clarity, but concerns remain
The government’s second finance bill has provided clarity on a number of pensions issues, including a reduction of the money purchase annual allowance, but experts are concerned that some people are still likely to suffer adverse consequences.
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Features
How to make sure a scheme merger runs smoothly
Analysis: A desire to cut costs and harmonise pension provision often drives companies with multiple defined benefit pension funds to consolidate their schemes, but experts say there are a number of factors trustees and employers should bear in mind to ensure a smooth merger.
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News
PLSA urges schemes to focus on ‘inputs’
A new report on pension scheme governance calls for greater focus on improving the quality of structures and personnel, or ‘inputs’, and argues that processes have received excessive attention.