All articles by Tom Dines – Page 17
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News
Selex grows surplus to £72m but future costs rise
The £530m Selex Pension Scheme has further grown its funding surplus, but its pensions head is unfazed about overfunding as the interest rate environment has pushed up future service costs.
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News
Consultants report evidence of Osborne boost to DB-DC transfers
Consultants have reported an increase in the number of defined benefit to defined contribution transfer requests from scheme members following George Osborne's announcement of greater retirement flexibility in the March Budget.
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News
Plumbing scheme works to trace 7,000 addresses in data push
The Plumbing and Mechanical Services Industry Pension Scheme has taken steps to trace scheme members to improve its record-keeping, with the address of almost one in every five currently missing.
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News
Nest: understanding behaviour more important than product fixes
The UK’s state-backed pension scheme has led calls for understanding member behaviour in light of the incoming pension flexibilities, arguing such work is more important than developing new products for savers.
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Opinion
Could your scheme assets withstand a cyber attack?
In the event of an act of terror, pensions are likely to be the last thing on anyone's mind, but with senior experts recently predicting the "strong likelihood" of cyber attacks, what should schemes do to protect against the worst?
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News
Schemes urged to square segmentation with fairness
Schemes are increasingly turning to segmentation as they explore strategies for communication and investment across different sections of their membership, but legal experts warned of the importance of treating members fairly.
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Features
Royal Mail seeks member feedback on comms strategy
The Royal Mail pension scheme is consulting members on its communication strategy to make sure they understand their benefits following a period of high-profile change for the country’s five-century-old postal service.
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News
Unilever swaps asset allocation approach to focus on outcomes
Consumer goods giant Unilever's pension fund has adopted an outcome-led investment approach split into five key objectives, jettisoning its previous focus on asset allocation in a bid to avoid short-termism.
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News
UK lags Europe in passives drive for smart beta and ETFs
UK pension schemes are lagging behind their European counterparts investing in smart beta strategies, according to research that adds to criticism of actively managed strategies.
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Features
Lloyds scheme saves £710m with pensionable pay freeze
One of the UK’s ‘big four’ banks Lloyds Banking Group has made a £710m saving by halting pensionable pay increases, as it looks to reduce the cost of its defined benefit arrangement.
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News
Union mulls counter proposals to rival USS reforms
The UK's largest trade union for academics is debating whether to submit counter reform proposals for the Universities Superannuation Scheme, as negotiations continue over the future of one of the UK's biggest remaining final salary pension schemes.
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News
Consultants call for more competition in fiduciary management
Consultants have called for greater competition in the fiduciary management industry as a report indicates few schemes are doing due diligence when appointing a provider.
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Opinion
Five key charts from the PPF's Purple Book
Flying in the face of almost everything else pensions-related this year, the latest annual edition of the Pension Protection Fund's Purple Book revealed few if any big shocks.
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Features
RSPB scheme migrates to contingent assets to underpin 17-year recovery plan
The bird protection charity RSPB has set up a £56.4m contingent asset agreement with its pension scheme as part of a wider effort to reduce the funding deficit.
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News
Less than 1% opt out at caterer despite seasonal staff headwinds
Catering company Jenkinsons has auto-enrolled around 400 staff with just three opt-outs, despite enrolling a large seasonal workforce.
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Opinion
Trustee education: can training be engaging and insightful?
US president Thomas Jefferson said: "To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education." This has never been more pertinent to schemes.
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Opinion
Are alternatives proving their worth in volatile markets?
Alternative investments have been the target of pension schemes seeking to minimise the risks associated with volatility through diversification. But how correlated are these assets?
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News
LGPS consultation to drive greater member representation
The creation of national and local advisory boards for the Local Government Pension Scheme is expected to improve engagement and representation for members, but could lead to increased cost for compliance.
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News
Academic backs call for IGCs to mirror trustee boards
NAPF Annual Conference 2014: Senior industry figures have called for independent governance committees to be more like trustee boards in their activities, to protect member interests.
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News
Beauty company nails AE with just one opt-out from 175
NAPF Annual Conference 2014: As smaller employers reach their auto-enrolment staging dates, beauty brand Nails Inc has said only one of 175 opted out when it auto-enrolled staff in January, which it attributed to knowing what level of benefits employees would want.