All scheme funding articles – Page 17
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News
TPR’s fast-track proposal 'risks levelling down by employers'
Actuaries have expressed concern that the Pensions Regulator’s proposal of a ‘fast-track’ route for compliance, with its expectations on defined benefit funding, could spur market-leading employers to level down their approach.
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News
Covid-19 could lead to 75% hike in deficit repair contributions
Deficit repair contributions may need to increase by 75 per cent if defined benefit schemes are to meet their recovery plan end dates, according to analysis published by the Pensions Regulator.
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OpinionLords’ open DB protections don't stack up
Editor's blog: Are we to see the decline of defined benefit put on hold? That is the vision of amendments to the pension schemes bill moved at the end of June by the House of Lords.
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News
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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News
OECD encourages regulators to be flexible in response to pandemic
On the go: Policymakers should allow for regulatory flexibility in their approach to recovery plans to make sure that people saving for retirement stay the course during the Covid-19 crisis, the OECD has recommended.
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News
Seven-year scam poses ‘serious questions’ for TPR
The Pensions Ombudsman has finally brought to a close a seven-year case that left members of three pension schemes looking to recoup losses in excess of £14m. However, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the Pensions Regulator in this case.
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NewsBoE governor reignites row between superfunds, insurers and regulators
In an intervention which laid bare a deep divide both in the industry and between regulators, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reignited a long-running feud between traditional insurers and advocates of new superfund models, while casting doubt on the Pensions Regulator’s ability to oversee consolidators.
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News
Aviva strikes £150m buy-in with General Healthcare Group
On the go: Insurer Aviva has secured a £150m buy-in contract with the General Healthcare Group & Life Assurance Plan.
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News
Schemes to take a £5bn hit as analysts predict deflation
On the go: Pension schemes already suffering the funding implications of Covid-19 could be facing a further £5bn of pressure, as the prospect of deflation later in the year produces a “ratchet effect”, according to analysis by LCP.
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News
Charities suffer under the strain of DB scheme deficits
On the go: Three-quarters of charities have defined benefit schemes in deficit, adding extra strain to a sector already hit hard by coronavirus, according to a new report by Hymans Robertson.
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News
Suffolk holds firm through equity volatility storm
Suffolk Pension Fund has reported a bounceback in its asset values after taking a £327m hit in the first quarter of the year, as experts said it is still legitimate for immature defined benefit schemes to lean on the equity risk premium.
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OpinionDo asset-backed funding structures need an update?
It has now been more than a decade since Marks and Spencer implemented the first asset-backed funding structure, and some of the industry’s pioneering arrangements are showing their age, according to CMS’s Alex Nicklin and Rizwan Rahman.
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PodcastsPodcast: The days of ‘amateurish’ trusteeship are over
Podcast: The challenges posed by Covid-19 will accelerate the move toward professional trusteeship, according to Mercer’s chief actuary Charles Cowling, who argues that the responsibilities in this area post-coronavirus will be too much for lay trustees to handle alone. He and Catherine McFadyen, head of public sector actuarial, benefits and governance at Hymans Robertson, discuss LGPS funding, the impact of mortality rates, and give their predictions about the post-crisis world.
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News
Old British Steel scheme trustees consider buyout
On the go: The trustees of the Old British Steel Pension Scheme are considering a buyout for its 31,000 members, due to a better-than-expected funding position achieved while in the assessment period at the Pension Protection Fund.
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News
Regulator rebuffs calls to abandon new DB code
On the go: The Pensions Regulator has dismissed calls from industry to halt its work on a new defined benefit funding code, arguing that the affordability principle it espouses is “even more important and relevant in the light of Covid-19”.
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News
Falling support for TPR’s new funding regime
On the go: Support for the Pensions Regulator’s vaunted new defined benefit funding regime may be falling, according to a report by Aon.
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Features
Coronavirus hits unhealthy DB schemes hard
Data crunch: A new report from consultancy Barnett Waddingham has found that the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the funding divide between UK defined benefit schemes, with severe implications for those at the bottom of the pile.
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News
Return of the zombies: Can trustees ‘game’ PPF?
Defined benefit trustees linked to struggling employers face tough decisions about whether to tip their sponsors into insolvency or increase their burden on the Pension Protection Fund amid the onset of a global recession, in what experts have called a regulatory grey area.
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News
TPR signals renewed focus on sponsor affordability
The Pensions Regulator has directed defined benefit trustees to focus on the affordability of payments into their schemes by sponsoring employers, urging collaboration to link business recovery to increased member security.
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News
PPF could postpone 2030 funding goal amid Covid-19 crisis
The Pension Protection Fund could postpone its goal of being fully self-sufficient and 110 per cent funded by 2030 if needed to face the current Coronavirus pandemic, but will avoid “any kind of knee-jerk reaction”.