The National Association of Pension Funds Annual Conference 2014 in Liverpool was in full swing today, with panel discussions on auto-enrolment, collective defined contribution, independent governance committees, to name just a few.

The day kicked off early, with what I can imagine to be a few sore heads, with a session on SME auto-enrolment.

Representatives from Nails Inc, Interconnect IT and General Welding Supplies explained their AE experience – and did not paint the prettiest of pictures.

The SMEs were unsure which providers would take their business and said AE websites could be clearer.

But...

Val Allen of General Welding Supplies told delegates that having to re-enrol staff every three years was an admin "nightmare".

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The day kicked off early, with what I can imagine to be a few sore heads, with a session on SME auto-enrolment.

Representatives from Nails Inc, Interconnect IT and General Welding Supplies explained their AE experience – and did not paint the prettiest of pictures.

The SMEs were unsure which providers would take their business and said AE websites could be clearer.

But...

Val Allen of General Welding Supplies told delegates that having to re-enrol staff every three years was an admin "nightmare".

Here's our story on the panel.

Interestingly a panel on CDC did not result in a lot of confidence from delegates for the pensions minister's view on the future of pensions in the UK.

Flexible benefit strategies were also on the agenda, with SABMiller and the Yorkshire Building Society saying they were looking beyond pensions.

Here is our story on SABMiller's auto-enrolment predicament.

Independent governance committees were also a hot topic.

Yesterday, shadow pensions minister Gregg McClymont questioned whether IGCs were truly independent and called for more trust-based schemes.

Mark Boyle, chair of the Pensions Regulator, laid out the watchdog's priorities for the next year.

Boyle said in the vast majority of cases it is in the best interests of members to stay in a defined benefit scheme, rather than transfer to DC.

He estimated that £500m had been lost to pension liberation scams, but warned this may only be the tip of the iceberg.

Maggie Craig, acting head of savings and investments at the Financial Conduct Authority, was a big draw. She spoke about the pension reforms and guidance guarantee.

She confirmed there would be a single brand for the guidance guarantee service.

She conceded it had been difficult to consult on something that has yet to be legislated, saying there were a lot of moving parts.

Joanne Segars, chief executive of the NAPF, was next up to give her vision for the future of pensions.

She called for an independent retirement savings commission to take the politics out of pensions, and she also demanded stronger regulation of trustees. 

Steve Webb apparently started his speech with a story about his cabbie in Liverpool – he is 55 next year, will take his pension savings as cash and is voting Ukip.

A charge-cap paper is to be published tomorrow, just to add to the ream of consultations and papers issued this week.

While Webb did mention his vision for defined ambition, some noted a possible change in his stance.

He did later confirm that pot-follows-member was still part of the government's pensions policy. 

Thursday is always peak activity for the conference, and this year was no exception.

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