All articles by Maria Espadinha – Page 15
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Covid-19 adds £10bn to inflation woes
As the government’s consultation to make changes to the retail price index draws to a close, the impact of aligning the inflation measure with the consumer price index including housing costs has increased by £10bn due to the pandemic.
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Safeway gets clarity on pension equalisation case
On the go: Safeway has reached the end of a pensions legal process that started in 2016, with the Court of Appeal ruling that its defined benefit scheme's normal pension ages were equalised retrospectively, but not for as long as initially predicted.
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Siemens completes £530m buy-in with L&G
On the go: Industrial manufacturer Siemens has completed a £530m* buy-in for Siemens Benefits Scheme with Legal & General, covering more than 2,000 pensioners.
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High Court to clarify if PPF can pay redress to scam victims
The High Court has been asked to clarify whether legislation that created the Fraud Compensation Fund, managed by the board of the Pension Protection Fund, could allow for compensation to victims of pension scams.
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TPR conducts internal review after Norton case
On the go: The Pensions Regulator is conducting an internal review to identify if there are lessons to be learnt after the Norton Motorcycles debacle, a case that left members looking to recoup losses in excess of £14m.
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PPF offers levy payment assistance for struggling sponsors
On the go: The Pension Protection Fund is waiving the interest charge on its levy payment plan to help schemes or sponsoring employers struggling due to the economic impact of coronavirus.
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Volunteer schemes and providers to test pensions dashboards
On the go: The Pensions Dashboards Programme is planning to start extensive testing with individuals, dashboard providers, and volunteer pension providers and schemes, after it publishes a first version of the pensions dashboards data standards this autumn.
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Lords commit TPR to preserving open DB schemes
The House of Lords has amended the pension schemes bill to ensure that open defined benefit schemes are not forced to derisk their investments in the same way as closed plans, in one of four defeats suffered by the government.
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Pension superfunds could hinder insurers’ businesses
On the go: UK pension superfunds could encroach on life insurers’ bulk purchase annuity market, as the new consolidation vehicles may present employers with a more affordable alternative, according to Fitch Ratings.
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Willis Pension Scheme enters £1bn longevity swap
On the go: The Willis Pension Scheme has entered into a £1bn longevity swap with Munich Re, covering around 3,500 members.
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DWP to introduce flat-fee limits to protect small pots
The Department for Work and Pensions has concluded that a flat-fee structure implemented by some master trusts does not provide “adequate protection”, especially for lower earners, and is proposing an application limit to protect small pots.
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PodcastsPodcast: PPF could face new court case on benefits
Podcast: After the ruling from the High Court that the Pension Protection Fund cap on deferred member benefits is illegal on age discrimination grounds, the pensions lifeboat could face a new legal challenge as members who have not reached retirement age have their benefits cut to 90 per cent, argues Ian Neale, director at Aries Insight. He and Sara Protheroe, chief customer officer at the PPF, discuss this topic, as well as the interim regime for superfunds and the implications of the new insolvency bill for pension schemes.
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DB trustees spend 3,000 days a year processing inefficiencies
On the go: Defined benefit pension scheme trustees cumulatively spend 3,000 days each year monitoring processes that could be avoided by adopting a technology-led approach, new analysis shows.
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Part-time judges get owed pensions as govt consults on new rules
On the go: The Ministry of Justice is consulting on new rules for the Fee-Paid Judicial Pension Scheme in response to recent court cases, with 4,600 judges being owed past pension contributions.
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United Biscuits awaits CJEU ruling in long-lasting VAT saga
On the go: The trustees of United Biscuits’ defined benefit pension scheme are waiting for a final ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union, after the advocate general sided with HM Revenue & Customs on a long-lasting battle on value added tax.
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Minister questions schemes on dashboard data readiness
UK pension schemes are being asked by the pensions minister to report on the readiness of their data for the dashboards project, but specialists argue the lack of legislation and data standards could make it difficult to obtain accurate responses.
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DB employers mandated to justify further payment holidays
Trustees of defined benefit pension schemes will have to report decisions to allow sponsors to skip or delay deficit payments to the Pensions Regulator from July, as the watchdog drew fire for not insisting on this transparency from the start of its Covid-19 easements.
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Regulator appoints 91 trustees during first quarter
On the go: The Pensions Regulator has appointed 91 trustees to ensure the proper administration of pension schemes between January and March, according to new data.
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Industry bodies lobby government to change insolvency bill
Pensions industry bodies are lobbying the government to make changes to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which unless revised will “inevitably lead to more pensioners not receiving their benefits in full and greater strain on the Pension Protection Fund”.
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Dormant pots to exceed 20m in 2020 due to Covid-19
On the go: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK labour market will cause a 32 per cent increase in the number of dormant pension pots in 2020, according to new research.