All Regulation articles – Page 5
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NewsFBU urges employment tribunal to protect member benefits
The Fire Brigades Union has said it will encourage and assist its members in taking claims before an employment tribunal to protect their pension benefits, while it continues to negotiate with the Home Office for a permanent solution.
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NewsOmbudsman hits Teachers’ Pensions with maladministration fine
The Pensions Ombudsman has fined Teachers’ Pensions £500 for maladministration after it failed to adequately inform a member about the rules around breaks in pensionable service, but dismissed the member’s argument that the fine should be increased to the minimum required in cases of employment discrimination.
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NewsGovernment presses ahead with NHS scheme uplifts
The Department of Health and Social Care has expanded on its plans to change the way member contribution rates are calculated and decided in the NHS Pension Scheme, launching a new consultation laying out its proposed uplifts to contribution tier thresholds.
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NewsDerbyshire among funds at risk in £138mn solar farm scandal
The Derbyshire Pension Fund is among a number of public sector institutions with members’ money invested in a scandal-hit council investment project that has seen £138mn in public money go missing.
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NewsPASA guidance tackles ‘concerns’ over administration transfers
On the go: The Pensions Administration Standards Association has released guidance to tackle “increasing” concerns about the transfer of administration services, citing delays, unreasonable charges and deteriorating performance during the notice period.
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NewsLGA calls for mandatory national insurance data in dashboards
The Local Government Association has argued that making national insurance numbers optional data will lead to a “poor experience” for pensions dashboards users, and has called for the government to make it a mandatory feature.
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PodcastsPodcast: Pension tax changes needed to save NHS from ‘rock bottom’
Podcast: Staff shortages and ever-growing waiting lists have left the NHS at “rock bottom”, but the government “has its head in the sand”. Changes to the pensions taxation regime are essential to fix the problem, argues Vishal Sharma, pensions committee chair at the British Medical Association. He is joined by Mark Bondi, council member at the Society of Pension Professionals and senior technical consultant at Capita, to discuss the NHS, the High Court’s retail price index decision, and pension priorities for new prime minister Liz Truss.
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NewsTPR’s criminal powers ‘pose risks’ to universities
The Pensions Regulator’s new criminal powers could potentially pose risks to university sponsors of defined benefit schemes, especially in light of reforms at the Universities Superannuation Scheme, legal experts have said.
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NewsTriple lock, NHS and merging regulators on Liz Truss’s agenda
The new prime minister faces a host of economic problems, ranging from the cost of living crisis to the staffing crisis in the NHS as she enters Number 10, industry experts have said, with all eyes on the government’s forthcoming “fiscal event”.
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NewsLabour would scrap pensions tax cap to boost NHS staff
On the go: Labour’s shadow Health and Social Care secretary, Wes Streeting, has pledged to do away with the cap above which NHS workers incur additional tax burdens, in a bid to dissuade experienced staff from retiring.
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NewsBT, Ford and M&S schemes consider appealing against RPI judgment
On the go: The trustees of the BT, Ford and Marks and Spencer schemes are considering whether to appeal against the judgment handed down by the High Court, which struck down their judicial review against the government’s plans to axe the retail price index.
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Opinion
Trustees should pay attention to TPR’s corporate plan
Independent Trustee Services associate director Jennifer Adams details the regulator’s priorities set out in its corporate plan and how trustees should use this to guide their work in the coming months.
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NewsScheme administrators concerned about dashboard data security
On the go: Data security on the pensions dashboards is the primary concern among pension scheme administrators, according to a survey from financial solutions company Bravura.
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News‘Millions to lose out’ as court rejects RPI reform appeal
Industry commentators have warned that millions of pensioners stand to “lose out” after the High Court rejected a judicial review, brought by some of the country’s largest defined benefit schemes, against the government’s plans to replace the retail price index with the consumer price index including housing.
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NewsLGPS calls for ‘future-proofing’ benefits against discrimination
On the go: The chair of the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board, councillor Roger Phillips, has written to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities asking for reforms to discriminatory death and survivor benefits in the LGPS, and to protect the scheme against future legal challenges.
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NewsStrikes ‘likely’ over TfL pension changes as funding deal reached
Changes to the TfL Pension Fund will be required as part of a financial support package agreed between the government, Transport for London and the mayor of London, with a plan to be presented in September. But unions have rejected the deal, and warned that more strikes are “likely”.
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NewsPensions dashboards standards need ‘extensive user testing’
Respondents to the pensions dashboards standards consultation have warned that user testing and experience will be required before a full assessment can be provided.
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News‘Disingenuous’ pension proposals will not fix NHS staffing crisis
The government’s proposed pension rules tweaks around “retire and return” for some NHS Pension Scheme members, in a bid to tackle the mounting staff retention crisis, have been criticised by commentators who argue that the changes do not go far enough.
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PodcastsPodcast: Trustees struggling to guide members on inflation benefits
Podcast: A report from XPS Pensions suggests that members could reap £10,000 additional benefits by delaying retirement because of the way increases and inflation are calculated, but trustees are struggling to help them because of the “red tape” around advice. LCP partner Laura Amin is joined by Hymans Robertson partner Patrick Bloomfield to discuss benefits’ inflation calculation and advice, concerns about defined benefit funding, and the women’s state pension age investigation.
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NewsCourt dismisses trustee’s Barber window arrears claim
The High Court has ruled that members of the CMG UK Pension Scheme are not entitled to payment of arrears that fell due more than six years ago, despite the trustee’s attempts to continue paying them.