All scheme funding articles – Page 20

  • Andy McKinnon
    Opinion

    PPF remains well-equipped to meet DB financial challenges

    2018-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Despite recent large claims, the Pension Protection Fund remains robust and well-equipped to meet the challenges that exist within the defined benefit pension scheme universe it protects, says Andy McKinnon, the lifeboat’s chief financial officer.

  • News

    DB schemes move into surplus

    2018-12-12T00:00:00Z

    On the go: UK defined benefit pension schemes have moved into surplus after the Pension Protection Fund made changes to the way the PPF 7800 Index is calculated.

  • Features

    Shell launches online hub to meet member demand

    2018-11-15T00:00:00Z

    Royal Dutch Shell has introduced a new financial education hub for employees, as members of the company’s pension fund show appetite for online communications.

  • News

    DB health improves but covenant strength ignored

    2018-11-14T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit pension schemes are not paying enough attention to the likelihood of their employer going bust when setting investment strategy, according to a new study assessing funding levels in the context of sponsor health.

  • News

    UK pension scheme deficit triples over October to £107.7bn

    2018-11-13T00:00:00Z

    On the go: The aggregate deficit of the UK’s 5,588 pension schemes in the PPF 7800 Index has nearly tripled over October to £107.7bn at the month’s end, from a deficit of £38.7bn at the end of September 2018.

  • News

    More unions eye CDC as possible negotiation outcome

    2018-11-08T00:00:00Z

    What is good enough for postal workers is, it would appear, not good enough for academics.

  • News

    FTSE 100 DB risk drops nearly a quarter

    2018-10-10T00:00:00Z

    The aggregate risk across FTSE 100 defined benefit schemes has fallen to its lowest level in four years, according to research that seeks to integrate covenant and investment risk. 

  • News

    PPF: UK DB liabilities drop by another £40bn

    2018-10-09T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Defined benefit funding levels have risen over September, bringing the UK's aggregate deficit to £38.7bn on the Pension Protection Fund's section 179 basis.

  • Hugh Nolan
    Opinion

    How should schemes react to stagnating life expectancy?

    2018-10-02T00:00:00Z

    Life expectancy in the UK has flatlined in the past two years. Is this a blip, or will we see a return to the fast improvements seen at the start of the century? Hugh Nolan, director at Spence & Partners, discusses how trustees can manage scheme funding despite this uncertainty.

  • Opinion

    Do you want to live forever?

    2018-09-28T00:00:00Z

    Editorial: Longevity serves as a useful euphemism in the pensions world.

  • News

    Life expectancy flatlines for first time in decades

    2018-09-26T00:00:00Z

    Life expectancy in the UK has flatlined in the last two years, according to the Office for National Statistics, with drops in the life expectancy of babies born in Scotland and Wales putting an end to decades of improving longevity.

  • Roy Murphy
    Opinion

    Trustees must not shirk responsibility on DB transfers

    2018-09-20T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has, in common with many other defined benefit pension schemes, seen a significant increase in transfers out of the fund since the introduction of pensions freedoms introduced three years ago under the then pensions minister, Steve Webb.

  • Tim Sharp
    Opinion

    New regulator powers will only accelerate DB disappearance

    2018-08-21T00:00:00Z

    From the blog: The government has floated well-intentioned reforms intended to strengthen the arm of regulators against dodgy bosses, but the proposed changes risk undermining trustees and making further scheme closures more likely.

  • News

    DB schemes inch closer to full PPF funding

    2018-08-14T00:00:00Z

    On the go: Defined benefit schemes in the UK are nearing full funding on the Pension Protection Fund's section 179 basis, with an aggregate deficit of £62.8bn at the end of July.

  • FTSE 100 (Getty)
    News

    FTSE 100 steps up derisking drive as deficits shrink

    2018-07-30T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit schemes of FTSE 100 employers continue to derisk investment portfolios at a rapid rate, despite mismatching of assets and liabilities generating attractive returns over the last year.

  • Getty Images
    Features

    BT’s 'sleight of hand' bond gift slashes accounting deficit

    2018-07-27T00:00:00Z

    BT’s defined benefit scheme has seen its accounting deficit drop by £1.8bn over the past quarter after investing in the bonds of its own sponsor, but some experts have questioned whether the move has any meaningful impact on member security.

  • Lorraine Harper
    Opinion

    What the DWP’s new DB funding code could mean for trustees

    2018-07-16T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Management Institute’s Lorraine Harper discusses the revised regime for scheme funding set out in the Department for Work and Pensions’ white paper on defined benefit pension schemes, published earlier this year.

  • Peter Murphy
    Opinion

    Schemes must be prepared for an interventionist regulator

    2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit trustees and employers should both expect to see more of the Pensions Regulator in the coming years, says Sackers’ Peter Murphy, as its new approach and suite of powers look set to target scheme funding and corporate transactions.

  • News

    Less than a third of trustees think TPR will monitor fairly

    2018-06-20T00:00:00Z

    Just 31 per cent of trustees are confident the Pensions Regulator will police funding agreements fairly and effectively in future, according to a survey by consultancy Willis Towers Watson.

  • News

    S&N scheme to review impact of pubs takeover

    2018-05-31T00:00:00Z

    Trustees of the Scottish & Newcastle Pension Plan will be assessing the impact of a recent corporate acquisition made by the pension scheme’s parent company Heineken UK, as part of a full covenant review this year.