Pensions Week articles from January 2009

Pensions Week archives from January 2009

News: More trustees to take legal action in 2009.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Professional indemnity (PI) claims against pensions professionals will rise dramatically in 2009, according to a number of law firms. The prediction follows news that Philips Pensions Trustees is to sue its...

News: Pan puts trust in Goddard.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Pan Governance has hired former Capital Cranfield Trustees founding director Charles Goddard. Goddard takes on the role of a board member of Pan Governance and a director of Pan Trustees. He will also set up and...

This week: Fortune favours the brave.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley, Editor There is much to be learnt from the way in which some business leaders have reacted to the recession. The wild discounting by Justin King at Sainsbury's - just before we all finally realised that, yes, the...

News: HBOS trustees abort planned legal battle.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts The trustees of the HBOS pension scheme have dropped plans to delay a merger between HBOS and Lloyds TSB. The trustees had planned to ask the Court of Session in Edinburgh this week to delay the merger until Lloyds...

News: LGPS ill-health pension wrangle in tense deadlock.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley The deadlock on short-term ill-health pensions for local authority employees is heading for its one-year anniversary after further terse exchanges between government and doctors. New rules creating three types of...

News: NestlE skims White from Newsquest.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts NestlE UK has appointed Andrew White as head of group pensions UK & Ireland to develop its corporate pensions strategy. He joins from the Newsquest Media Group pension scheme, where he was pensions manager, and...

News in brief.
January 12, 2009... Paul Hughes, an ex-director of Heath Lambert who saw his pension in payment cut from GBP66,245 to GBP17,481, has lodged his complaint with the Pensions Ombudsman. His complaint alleges maladministration of his pension fund by Capita Cranfield...

News: Bluefin makes waves in a bigger market.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley A new corporate adviser formed from the merger of five existing firms is to target mid-market companies concerned about the level of their fees. Bluefin Advisory Services is the new name for the firms formerly...

News: M&S makes moves to reduce liabilities.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Marks & Spencer, the UK's largest clothing retailer, is making significant changes to its final salary pension scheme as part of a massive cost-cutting plan. The move will cap the annual increase in employees'...

News in brief.
January 12, 2009... Capita Life and Pensions has announced a five-year partnership deal with IT company Steria in a bid to improve cost-effectiveness. The deal will provide the insurer with offshore IT application development and support services, helping to...

News: Xafinity looks to clear its name in GMP case.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby The National Audit Office has yet to produce an explanation for why administrators found themselves overpaying public sector pension payments. Xafinity Paymaster is among those administrators seeking to clear...

News: Trust-based plans a 'waste'.
January 12, 2009... The necessity of running a fee-heavy trust-based defined contribution scheme in a recession has been called into question by Alexander Forbes Financial Services. The adviser has said that UK employers are 'wasting' over GBP85m on running...

News: Investment Comment - Don't reinvent advice model - improve it.
January 12, 2009... Many consulting firms would have us believe that implemented consulting is the solution to apparent problems with the traditional advice model in the UK - but some firms beg to differ. Greg Wright, director and investment advisory at KPMG...

News: RDR: no detail for corporate schemes.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has admitted not fully considering the impact of the retail distribution review (RDR) for corporate pensions and wrap platforms. At a seminar co-hosted by Friends Provident...

News: Members could benefit from better strategies.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Greater sophistication and efficiency among defined contribution (DC) schemes could increase members' future retirement income by up to 45%. Hewitt's 2008 Defined Contribution Pension Survey found that a...

News: ACA predicts high opt-out rates in 2012.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Opt-out rates from personal accounts are being vastly underestimated, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). In a recent survey, the ACA discovered that two-thirds of small firms predicted...

News: Funds realise impact of 2008 equity falls.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Estimates of average pension fund losses for 2008 have been recorded at -9.8% and -13%. State Street Corporation said that the WM UK Defined Benefit Pension Fund Universe made returns of -13% in 2008. This was...

News: FTSE 100 schemes record a surplus.
January 12, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Two surveys of scheme funding for 2008 have showed surpluses on a corporate bond measure of liabilities. Pension Capital Strategies' measure of the FTSE 100 company pension funds found a GBP12bn surplus as at...

News in brief.
January 12, 2009... Healthy balance sheets, continued urbanisation and consumer demand all point towards economic growth remaining robust in Asia, believes Baring Asset Management. The fund manager expects China and India to account for 50% of GDP world growth in...

In depth: Talking heads.
January 12, 2009... What are the four biggest issues for pension schemes in 2009? 'The investment consultant' John Belgrove - Hewitt Associates 1- The challenging economic outlook will lead many trustees to reappraise their sponsor covenant strength and...

In depth: Personal view - Working together could deregulate and reform the pensions structure.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Penny Pilzer The amount of pensions consultation by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over the past few years is probably unprecedented. Yet practitioners invariably cite a lack of communication, or at least a lack of...

In depth: Jargon buster.
January 12, 2009... OEIC - Open-ended investment company. Open architecture - Fund management firms that offer not only their own investment internal management expertise, but which allow clients access to the expertise of other investment management groups....

In depth: Technical view - Cost will dominate scheme structure in 2009.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Jamie Clark With the impact of the global economic turmoil continuing to increase, many companies could be struggling. In spite of various measures introduced over the last few months to try and help the situation, employers will...

Industry watch: Governance - Taking steps towards greater governance.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Tom Powdrill As pension funds look to make sense of the financial crisis, and plan their way forward, one of the critical issues for them to consider will be corporate governance. The losses pension funds have suffered as a result...

Industry watch: Notice board - NAPF conference and training 2009.(Conference news)
January 12, 2009... NAPF Investment Conference 2009 Investment today for tomorrow's needs: Choices, challenges and change March 11-13 - Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) The challenges facing those with investment responsibility have been...

Industry watch: View from the bridge.
January 12, 2009... Age discrimination There have been some cases on age discrimination, plus a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) paper since PW last appeared. We have also had the appearance of the alleged perpetrator of the biggest fraud ever. It...

Pensions workout: Beginner - Insolvency and the PPF - Beginners' level.
January 12, 2009... The sight of naked pensioners parading along Brighton seafront outside the Labour party conference certainly left an indelible image, but the protests had a much more lasting and beneficial result. The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) was...

On the move: Hymans' investment team gets 2009 boost.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Kelly Carlton Hymans Robertson has welcomed in the new year with the appointment of four senior investment consultants. Linda Selman and Julie Macdonald will join the Glasgow office, where they will advise public and private...

On the move: Going places.
January 12, 2009... Fitzsimmons fits the bill for Watson Wyatt Watson Wyatt has expanded its settlement solutions team with the hire of Robert Fitzsimmons as consulting programme manager. Joining from Royal Sun & Alliance, Fitzsimmons has over 20 years of...

On the move: Top 4 moves.
January 12, 2009... 01 - Ian Burton & Cecilia Wilson OLD - Burton was director of consultant relations at Insight Investment; Wilson was an account director at State Street Global Advisors NEW - Both join Pioneer Investments - Burton as head of UK consultant...

This week: Bargain-hunting at its best.
January 19, 2009... Byline: David Rowley - Editor My wife thinks I am a wuss when it comes to bargaining down prices from any sort of goods or services. The way I see it, she gets a kick out of bargaining and so is quite successful at it, while I don't. ...

News: Funding clause could see rise in litigation.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Lawyers have identified a clause in the Pensions Act that could lead to uncertainty during funding negotiations and an increase in litigation. Section 132 of last year'sact saysthe Pensions Regulator can impose a...

News: Govt 'timewasting' over Equitable compensation.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby The government has been accused of continued timewasting in providing help to those affected by the Equitable Life collapse. It has announced a series of ex-gratia payments in lieu of compensation, but there will...

News: Multi-strategy fund hits GBP1bn mark.
January 19, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Baring Asset Management's dynamic asset allocation fund has reached more than GBP1bn in value as pension funds seek less volatile investments to appease sponsors. The multi-strategy fund was launched in January...

News in brief.
January 19, 2009... Following last week's coverage of the Philips Pension Scheme trustees vs Hewitts legal case, the trustees have confirmed that Hewitts is no longer the scheme actuary. The mandate has been assigned to Watson Wyatt. One-third of Britons...

News: PA admin provision job could go overseas.
January 19, 2009... Byline: David Rowley The administration for personal accounts may be run by a company based in North America or Europe. In launching its procurement process for an administration provider, Tim Jones, chief executive of the Personal...

News: Claim financing could help combat impact of recession.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Litigation funding could prove to be a recession-proof asset class, according to US financial services company Juridica. By utilising a highly disciplined, financial and risk-based approach to investments in law...

News: Asda surrenders 20% of scheme assets.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Cardano UK, the independent solvency management firm, has taken on 20% of the assets of the GBP1bn Asda Group pension scheme. Under the terms of the deal, Cardano will decide an investment strategy and select firms...

News: Letter to govt pushes for 'do no harm' clause.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Influential figures are calling on the government to compel pension schemes to put a responsible investment clause into their statements of investment principles. The group has written to the prime minister asking...

News: Latest buyout deal sees PIC take on Leyland's liabilities.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts The Leyland DAF pension scheme has offloaded its liabilities to Pension Insurance Corporation in a GBP230m buyout deal. Under the terms of the transaction, the insurance company will insure the liabilities of the...

News: DB deficits total GBP194.5bn in 2008.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts The total deficit of the UK's final salary pension schemes soared to GBP194.5bn last year, according to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The PPF 7800 Index, which involves the analysis of 7,800 schemes, also...

News: Index could enable SMEs to lock in gains.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Investment Solutions has launched a monthly index to help small pension schemes lock in investment gains. The firm's SME Pension Funding Level Index has been designed to reveal the health of the UK's small pension...

News: Schemes keen to bargain for lower base fees.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Pension schemes are eager to reduce hedge fund and fund-of-hedge fund fees, according to research from Bfinance, the independent consulting firm. A survey conducted last month found that the first priority of 77%...

News in brief.
January 19, 2009... The 121-member Babs International Staff Pension Scheme entered the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) last month. There are now 68 schemes in the PPF, and 20,750 people are receiving or are in line for compensation in the future. A further...

In depth: "We have to be professionally agnostic, but on the quality of provision we don't".
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Pensions ministers come and go. The government's pensions supremo, Rosie Winterton, is the 16th minister to hold a pensions brief since 1997. Mike O'Brien, her predecessor, remained in the post for only 15 months...

In depth: Would you credit the means-tested interest rate?
January 19, 2009... Byline: Steve Bee - Head of pensions policy, Scottish Life Interest rates are dropping fast. They are already at an all-time low and could even reach zero soon. But that's only in the real world; in the unreal world of pensions, of course,...

In depth: Personal view - Longevity projections enable insurers to hit the mark with more certainty.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Phil Sturgess Demographic projections are notoriously difficult to get right. The Beijing Olympic organisers had to draft in volunteer spectators because their projections overestimated crowd size. Prisoner populations in the UK...

In depth: Jargon buster.
January 19, 2009... Permanent capital A pot of money that cannot be withdrawn or paid out to investors who can only exit by selling their interests to someone else. In the UK, the most common form of permanent capital is an investment trust, and 3i has...

In depth: Technical view - The importance of robust risk analysis.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Dawid Konotey-Ahulu History will undoubtedly judge that the financial meltdown of 2007-2009 could and should have been avoided if only better tools were used, finer judgments made and greater care taken. Perhaps that damning...

In depth: Governance - Stand by: the clause may be about to go off.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Powdrill One of the more contentious bits of the Companies Act 2006 is clause 1277. The key part of the clause states: "The Treasury or the secretary of state may make provision by regulations requiring institutions to which...

In depth: My life outside pensions.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Shelagh Hamer - Pensions marketing executive, NFU Mutual Shelagh has worked in the pensions sector for eight years, two of which were spent explaining the technical aspects of pensions to employees. Prior to working at NFU Mutual,...

In depth: Notice board - NAPF events and training 2009.(Conference news)
January 19, 2009... NAPF investment conference 2009 Investment today for tomorrow's needs: choices, challenges and change March 11-13, 2009 Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) The host of top industry speakers at this years' investment...

Pensions workout: Intermediate - Insolvency and the PPF - Intermediate level.
January 19, 2009... The process to determine whether a final salary pension scheme is eligible for compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) begins on the day the sponsoring employer becomes insolvent. On this date the scheme enters the assessment period...

On the move: Matthews makes the grade at Osborne Clarke.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Law firm Osborne Clarke has promoted Paul Matthews to head of its employment and pensions practice group. He will join the firm's leadership team to ensure it meets its strategic objectives. The previous head,...

On the move: Going places.
January 19, 2009... Henderson currency takes five from Fortis Henderson Global Investors has snapped up a five-strong currency team from the investment banking arm of Fortis. The team, which is lead by Bob Arends, is joining Henderson to develop...

On the move: Top 4 moves.
January 19, 2009... 01 - Linda Selman, Julie Macdonald, Lochlan O'Sullivan and Alen Ong OLD - Selman was at Baillie Gifford; Macdonald was at Aon Consulting; O'Sullivan was at Fortis, and Alen Ong was at JPMorgan NEW - They become senior investment...

News: Price crash in fight for mandates.
January 19, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Fund manager fees for mandates are falling as trustees hurt by poor performance put a greater focus on value for money. Fund managers are renegotiating fees where they are eager to retain assets and also waiving...

News: Firms to pay for PAs from October 2012.
January 19, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Employer contributions into personal accounts will only apply from October 2012, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has revealed. Previously, the government had said that the requirement would...

News: Cross-border challenge rouses HMRC.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is expected to block a request by the European Commission to amend legislation to make it easier to set up cross-border pension schemes. The commission wrote a letter to HMRC in November...

News: Top trio joins trustee firm.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts Law Debenture has made three senior appointments to its pensions trustee team as part of an expansion. Philip Gillett joins from ICI, where he was chairman of the pension scheme's investment committee, and group...

This week: Neglect of corporate governance.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley - Editor Where should corporate governance rank in the list of a pension scheme's priorities? Not before ensuring good asset performance, measuring liabilities and communicating the retirement savings message. Oh, and...

News: NAPF: Govt should guarantee the PPF.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has set out six key government measures needed to help companies through the economic crisis. The measures have been produced alongside a warning that 52% of...

News: Governed funds to help advisers with TCF targets.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Scottish Life has launched a new governed range investment proposition, which it claims could help advisers fulfil their treating customers fairly (TCF) responsibilities. Nick Leitch, head of investment marketing...

News: Admin price wars rage in fight for large schemes.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Consultants are reporting outsourcing firms offering cut-throat pricing for big scheme tenders in a bid to gain high profile clients and build market share. The deals are prevalent for schemes with 20,000 plus...

News in brief.
January 26, 2009... The BBC's current 19% contribution of employees' salaries into its pension fund represents 4% of the income it receives from the licence fee. The broadcaster has pointed this out to its employees when reminding them their contributions...

News: Growing reliance on state cover predicted.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley A book that calls for a radical rethink of the state pension been published by the Actuarial Profession. 100 Years of State Pension reviews the history of government pension provision and questions what part the...

News: TPAS reports lack of knowledge over women's pensions.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Too many woman are unaware of or confused about forthcoming changes to the state pension, findings from the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) show. Since the setting up of its dedicated helpline for women a year...

News: Huge levy increase 'unacceptable'.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Widespread irritation with the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy has been revealed in a survey of schemes undertaken by Buck Consultants. Its survey of 96 schemes found that 82% thought the PPF's dramatic increase...

News: It pays to take our advice, claims Hewitt.
January 26, 2009... David Rowley Hewitt Associates is claiming that pension funds that use it as an investment adviser have seen out performance of 4% over the WM All Funds Index. It said that in the 12 months to September 30, 2008, the top 5% of Hewitt's...

News: Unclear literature costs Standard Life.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Charlie Kirby Standard Life is deciding how to remediate certain customers of its Sterling Pension Fund after its value dropped by 5%. The drop occurred after the unit price was reset in January, following the effects of the...

News in brief.
January 26, 2009... Pensioners were the worst hit by recent inflation, but are the most likely to benefit from falling prices, Punter Southall has claimed. Owing to the higher proportion of pensioner income going on food and energy services they have suffered...

News: CBI urges support for vulnerable firms.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley The insolvency risk for the 10% of FTSE 350 companies most in danger of defaulting increased fourfold in the last quarter of 2008, according to Mercer. Mercer's survey found that the pension schemes of the FTSE 350...

News: OPT throws firms in deficit a lifeline.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley Schemes with insolvent sponsors should consider scheme rescues as well as entering the Pension Protection Fund, the Occupational Pensions Trust (OPT) has argued. It said that a scheme rescue through organisations...

In depth: "We want to make sure there is complete confidence in pensions as a way of ensuring security in retirement".
January 26, 2009... Byline: Tom Willetts When Rosie Winterton moved to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Gordon Brown's reshuffle last year, she set about emphasising that the government was ready to meet the challenges brought about by an ageing...

In depth: Technical view - Revised levy formula is about fairness.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Alan Chart The current consultation on the future development of the pension protection levy proposes to change the way charges are apportioned between eligible pension schemes, beginning with the 2011/2012 levy year. The...

In depth: Personal view - Savvy trustees will prove ever more precious in the changing world of risk.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Kevin Wesbroom A global survey on pension risk proved to be quite an undertaking collating responses from 170 companies from a dozen countries but it did provide some interesting insights into the attitudes companies around the...

In depth: Jargon buster.
January 26, 2009... Qualified investor Investors who by virtue of their experience or financial strength, are allowed to buy shares in private placings (rather than in public offerings) or funds, which are not fully regulated for distribution to private...

In depth: Governance - Votes can bring firms back down to earth.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Tom Powdrill Does the recent shooting down of house builder Bellway's remuneration report by shareholders signify a change in approach to executive pay by the UK's biggest investors? Through 2008, and carrying on into the start of...

In depth: View from the bridge.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Norman Russell - Head of Pensions Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP Looking forward In his inaugural speech, president Obama told us the question is not "whether the market is a force for good or ill", but, he said, "this crisis has...

In depth: Notice board - NAPF conferences and training.(Conference news)
January 26, 2009... NAPF investment conference 2009 Investment today for tomorrow's needs: choices, challenges and change Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) March 11-13 The conference is designed to address the investment choices,...

Pensions workout: Advanced - Insolvency and the PPF - Advanced level.
January 26, 2009... One of the more time-consuming and complex tasks of the assessment period is the data and benefit audit. The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) requires the trustees to audit the scheme data to ensure it is accurate and up to date, and audit the...

Special Focus: Introduction.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Rowley - Editor The downfall of Lehman Brothers confirmed many people worst suspicions of the City and its hi-falutin solutions for pension funds. And yet the story that was often not properly told was how the holding of...

Special Focus: Passing the stress test.
January 26, 2009... Few would argue that 2008 was not a trying year in the world of pensions. Unfortunately, it is likely that 2009 will test the resolve of trustees even further. To a growing number of schemes that have moved to a strategy incorpor- ating...

Special Focus: Company focus - A word from the sponsor...
January 26, 2009... Background Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is one of the leading fund management groups in the UK, managing over GBP194bn* on behalf of over 2,900 corporate pension fund clients. LGIM's client relationship teams are dedicated...