All Society of Pension Professionals articles – Page 4
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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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NewsTPR prosecutes former BHS owner Dominic Chappell
The Pensions Regulator has said it is prosecuting businessman Dominic Chappell, whose company Retail Acquisitions owned high street chain BHS when it became insolvent, leaving behind an underfunded pension scheme.
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OpinionThe societal shift hindering good pensions policy
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan says politicians and the public are locked in an individualistic system that prejudices policy soundbites over sound policy.
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Opinion
Could improved understanding revive the annuity?
Analysis: Many savers have been reluctant to purchase an annuity following the government’s introduction of freedom and choice in 2015, but should they be nudged to reconsider their options?
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News
FCA cracks down on transfer advice
Pension consultants have welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority’s adoption of a tough stance on companies advising on defined benefit transfers, calling it a “price worth paying” for member security in retirement.
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OpinionParty politics meets pensions
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan on the main parties’ manifesto pledges for pensions.
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News
Nolan: Inflexible actuaries and trustees harm DB employers
Trustees and their actuaries must consider the impact of deficits and funding negotiations on struggling defined benefit sponsors, the president of the Society of Pension Professionals has warned.
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Features
JLT scheme deficit shows rate pain persists
The UK pension scheme of consultancy and insurance business JLT Group saw its IAS 19 deficit jump during 2016, as bond yields proved a leveller for schemes of all sponsor types.
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FeaturesPost Office surplus raises union affordability complaints
The Post Office section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan remains in surplus, its latest funding update shows, just weeks after it was closed to future accrual amid union consternation.
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OpinionDB Pensions: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Defined benefit is not facing systemic failure, but there are still areas where it could improve, argues Hugh Nolan from the Society of Pension Professionals.
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NewsSpring Budget focus on self-employed lets industry hope for more
The chancellor’s focus on the self-employed could pave the way for bringing the group into the pension system, some experts have said, as the spring Budget brings no significant news on pensions.
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OpinionWhat effect will a cap on exit fees have on freedom and choice?
Spence & Partners’ Hugh Nolan takes a critical look at the 1 per cent early exit fee cap coming into force at the end of this month.
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Opinion
Looking for a silver lining: Focus shifts to housing wealth as pension incomes hit a high
Analysis: Statistics seem to show that pensioners' incomes are now higher than other people's, but experts say there are many facets to the intergenerational fairness question.
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OpinionNolan: Everyone would gain from more DB to DC transfers
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan joins the ranks of those advocating partial transfers as the middle way.
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OpinionNo featherbed
Editorial: Happy Chinese new year! The year of the fire rooster has begun – the first of its kind in 60 years, so is there anything we can predict from looking at the last one?
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NewsRoyal Mail closure consultation could see strike action
Royal Mail Group has begun consulting with active members on closing its section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan, spurring the threat of industrial action from unions if the sponsor does not react positively to their concerns.
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OpinionHow to decide what is in members’ interests
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan asks what it means to be a good trustee and what happens when the trustee board is split over that question.
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News
Industry divided over CPIH
The Office for National Statistics has recently said it will make the consumer price index including owner-occupiers’ housing costs its preferred measure for gauging inflation next year, so should the government follow suit for pension indexation and revaluation?
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News
Share prices hit by DB deficits could spur fresh derisking drive
Defined benefit pension deficits are dragging down the market capitalisations of FTSE 100 companies, according to a recent study, as investors recognise the difference between disclosed deficits and the cost of securing benefits upon insolvency.
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OpinionThe Brexit effect on schemes and stats
The Society of Pension Professionals’ Hugh Nolan explains why making sense of financial stats can be tricky when Brexit is involved.