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OPT positive on PPF proposals Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT) reacts positively to the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) announcement that it proposes to change the assumptions underpinning scheme valuations	7/08/09
SIPP and SSAS members must check minimum retirement age impact on their schemes Changes to the minimum retirement age for a registered pension scheme, which will increase from 50 to 55 from 6 April 2010, must be considered now by self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and small self administered schemes (SSAS), says Premier Retirement Services	7/08/09
European directive could push OMO into limelight Take-up of the open market option (OMO) could be pushed forward by the introduction of the new Solvency II regulations, new European rules for insurers, says MGM Advantage	6/08/09
FSA must clarify adviser charging on GPPs Principles-based charging should be attached to non-adviser group personal pensions (GPP) business, and adviser charging to individual advice on GPP, says Friends Provident	6/08/09
Risk transfer market set to boom The pension risk transfer market could write more than £10bn of business in 2009, estimates Pension Corporation	5/08/09
ACA calls for post-General Election public sector pensions review A post-General Election review of public sector pensions is necessary before reforms are considered for MPs’ pensions, says the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA)	4/08/09
Health ailments pay for themselves in annuities It seems poor health really can equal great wealth with new figures from Rockingham Retirement showing that an enhanced annuity, available to unwell pensioners, can boost a client’s retirement income by 80 per cent	3/08/09
Gloomy scheme figures for top UK companies The UK’s largest firms are feeling the strain of huge pension deficits according to the latest figures on FTSE 100 and FTSE 350 schemes	1/08/09
PPF to form advisory group on proposals The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has updated its consultation on the long-term future of the levy, and has announced that it will establish a group to help develop its proposals	31/07/09
Pensions go mobile Accessing a pension scheme’s details via a mobile phone is now possible, thanks to the implementation of new technology by the Bluefin group	30/07/09
LGPS ready to go hybrid Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) could turn to hybrid pension schemes in an effort to secure their future, says Hymans Robertson	29/07/09
TPR’s statement on DC improvement welcomed by industry The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) statement on higher standards for defined contribution (DC) pensions has been welcomed by the industry for its moves towards further flexibility in engaging employees in DC plans	28/07/09
IAS19 standards encourage short-term investment strategies Current pension scheme accounting standards encourage short-term investment attitudes and need to be changed, according to the Marathon Club	27/07/09
Retirement a speck on the horizon for half of Brits Fifty-three per cent of the UK’s working population, around 18.7 million people, has no idea when they will be financially able to retire, says a new report from Baring Asset Management	23/07/09
FTSE 100 bosses landed £50,000 new pension tax bill FTSE 100 company directors will be paying more than £50,000 a year in additional tax from 2011 until they retire due to tax relief changes in the 2009 Budget, says Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP)	23/07/09
HSBC fined £3million over information security flops The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined three arms of the HSBC brand £3millon for information security failings	22/07/09
Personal Accounts will raise the pensions bar Personal Accounts will become the benchmark for the pensions industry, says Legal & General Investment Management (L&G)	22/07/09
DC governance losing out to costs and demands Cost controls and competing demands from defined benefit (DB) schemes are causing the majority of pension fund fiduciaries to fail in meeting their governance targets for defined contribution (DC) schemes, warns Watson Wyatt	21/07/09
Aviva hammers home OMO with TV ads It seems the long-standing ‘shop around for annuities’ message has failed to hit home with Aviva opting to tackle the issue head on with the launch of television and press adverts focusing on the Open Market Option (OMO)	20/07/09
British Airways could turn to pension scheme for help Trustees of the British Airways pension fund have reportedly been persuaded to release bank guarantees of £330million to the ailing company should it need the funds	17/07/09
TPR receives positive feedback to TKU consultation The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced that its 12-week consultation on its trustee knowledge and understanding (TKU) code of practice and scope guidance has shown widespread report for the TKU regime	17/07/09
Default retirement age review sooner than planned The Government has brought forward plans to review the UK’s default retirement age, which allows employers to force certain staff to retire at the age of 65, to 2010, a move that has been largely welcomed by the industry	16/07/09
Walker Review recommends drastic bank board changes Boards of banks and other financial institutions need to make substantial changes to the way they function, particularly when it comes to boosting the role of non-executives in the risk and remuneration process, says Sir David Walker’s Review	16/07/09
Record buy-in deal completed by Rothesay Life The biggest ever pensions buy-in deal has been agreed upon between Rothesay Life and the RSA Insurance Group plc in a £1.9bn transaction	14/07/09
Administration practices poised for improvement in cost and quality Cost and quality are the top concerns for pension schemes when it comes to administration, says Hewitt Associates	9/07/09
HMRC should simplify salary exchange rules Forty-six per cent of employers would like to see a simplification of the salary exchange rules from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), says AWD Chase de Vere Consulting	9/07/09
DB closures in vain for short-term results The benefits to firms of cancelling defined benefit (DB) accrual for all employees will take time to filter through to and impact on pensions deficits, warns Towers Perrin	9/07/09
Turner: Review was too moderate Lord Adair Turner has said that the recommendations he made in his 2005 review of the pensions system were not “radical” enough, particularly in relation to the state pension age	3/07/09
UK Plc saving up to £4.53bn a year thanks to closure of final salary Employers in the UK are saving up to £4.53bn a year due to the continuing demise of final salary pension schemes, , according to MGM Advantage	2/07/09
Deficits rocket to £73bn Equities have slid down the popularity scale for pension funds as deficits soar to £73bn at the end of June 2009, says Aon	1/07/09
Challenge remains in increasing pensions savings Pensions savings have increased since last year, with an increase in those saving of eight per cent since 2006, says Scottish Widows	30/06/09
IFAs must beware of correct SIPP practices Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) could face investigation and fines in 2009/10 if urgent transfer reviews processes, product solution, and audit trails are not employed, says Defaqto	30/06/09
Regulator issues risk transfer guidance A new code of practice on the transfer of risk in a changing landscape, through buy-ins or partial buy-outs, has been published for trustees, advisers and sponsors by the Pensions Regulator (TPR)	29/06/09
Firms named and shamed for annuity transfer times Some retirees are being forced to wait ten weeks for a simple fund transfer to take place when exercising the open market annuity option, says The Annuity Clearing House (ACH)	29/06/09
Public sector pension liabilities costs spiral out of control The UK’s public sector pension liabilities have climbed to a huge 85 per cent of GDP, or £1,177bn, warns the British-North American Committee (BNAC)	29/06/09
Decumulation deserves its own market section The retirement market is in need of a fresh approach with an independent review of the decumulation sector, warns a new report by the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) and Prudential UK	29/06/09
Longevity swaps could do more harm than good The UK’s first longevity swap could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, harbouring problems for pension schemes looking for full buy-outs in the future, warns Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)	29/06/09
Watson Wyatt and Towers Perrin merge to form consultancy super force Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt are to merge to form Towers Watson & Co., creating a company ‘stronger than the sum of its parts’	28/06/09
RDR consultation paper: call to action The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has thrown down the gauntlet to the financial advisory community, saying it needs to start thinking how it will implement ‘far-reaching’ changes by 2012 – as set out in its consultation paper on the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)	25/06/09
OPT warns PPF to consider private company position in levy calculation Widespread pay freezes and cuts in wages paid by private sector companies should be properly reflected in proposed rises in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy, says Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)	25/06/09
‘Baby gloomers’ unprepared for parents’ retirement care Sixty per cent of over 50s are concerned their pensions and savings will not last them through retirement, creating a new generation of ‘baby gloomers’ financing both themselves and their children, says Aviva	24/06/09
Crisis deepens for final salary pension schemes British workers in defined contribution (DC) schemes could receive around £40,000 a year less into their pensions in comparison to their colleagues in defined benefit (DB) schemes, says Prudential	24/06/09
TPR issues next in series of statements The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a statement stressing the importance of cautious funding levels for pension schemes, and reassuring sponsors in difficulty that flexibility is available in recovery plans	23/06/09
Independent pensions department on the cards? The UK could benefit from a consistent national pension policy if the Government continues to adjust the department that has responsibility for pension planning, says AWD Chase de Vere Consulting	23/06/09
DB pension changes could leave sector in a ‘zombie’ state PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has published research showing that companies are planning radical changes to defined benefit (DB) pension provision, ironically on the same day as the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance reinforcing the protection of existing DB benefits	23/06/09
Pension cuts risk ‘death of retirement’ Employers must limit the impact the credit crunch has on their pension provision, and reduce the responsibility of financial security placed upon individual employees, warns Friends Provident	23/06/09
PPF to remain true to three-year stable levy promise The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed that its 2010/11 pension protection levy estimate has been set at £700million, indexed to wages	23/06/09
Post-financial investment landscape challenges industry Asset managers worldwide are divided over the future of their industry after the credit crisis passes, according to an independent study from CREATE-Research	23/06/09
Nine further months of pensions improvement required to bring 2007 levels back Aon Consulting's latest assessment of pensions shows that although the UK’s defined contribution (DC) pension assets have steadily increased during the past three months, a further nine months of these conditions are necessary to return them to 2007 levels	22/06/09
Recession is putting MNTs in danger of breaching duty of care The current economic recession is placing an increasing strain on the role of member nominated trustees (MNTs) to pension schemes, where the risk of placing interests as employees or union representatives above duty of care towards existing pension fund beneficiaries is growing, warns Trustee GAAPS	22/06/09
Huge opportunity for insurers as baby boomers approach retirement The life insurance and pensions industry will see huge changes over the next ten years as it works to accommodate the retirement of the baby boomer generation, says State Street	19/06/09
Buy-in investment strategies must be executed with care Investment strategy must be handled with care when it comes to buy-ins, particularly when it comes to managing inflation risk, says Mercer	19/06/09
New mortality projection model is on the cards The Actuarial Profession has published a prototype model to project future mortality rates for consultation	19/06/09
Discarded Finance Bill proposals leaves bad taste The discarding of proposed amendments to the Finance Bill is a disappointment and means the new rules are a violation of the 2006 Simplifications of Pensions promises, says Dentons	18/06/09
Fred shreds annual pension: keeps lump sum Disgraced Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) former chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, has agreed to drastically reduce his controversial annual pension benefit	18/06/09
Gissings in Capita Hartshead takeover Capita Hartshead has acquired Gissings Holdings Ltd in a transaction for an undisclosed amount	18/06/09
PMI chairman stands down Mike Sullivan is to stand down as chairman of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Trustee Group Committee and as chairman of the PMI Trustee Group Seminars	18/06/09
IAS19 changes could adversely affect company reporting Proposed changes to IAS19 could have an adverse effect on companies with large pension schemes and large equity exposure, warns Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP)	17/06/09
Public services suffering due to fear of public sector pension funding Public service reform is being held back by a lack of a level playing field between the public and private sectors when it comes to pensions, warns the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)	16/06/09
Tomlinson chosen to sit in NAPF's big chair The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has chosen Lindsay Tomlinson to be its new chairman. He will replace Christopher Hitchen on 16 October 2009	16/06/09
Personal Accounts holds little pull for employees The benefits of Personal Accounts remain an enigma to 57 per cent of employees surveyed by JLT Benefit Solutions (JLT) for their second report on the UK’s attitude to the national savings scheme	16/06/09
Trustee governance model is ‘out of date’ Pension trustee governance models are out of date as they discourage swift decision making and so harm scheme prospects	15/06/09
NAPF urges MPs to re-think Budget tax proposals Changes to pensions taxation outlined in the Budget 2009 will have a negative impact on pension saving, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)	15/06/09
NAPF calls for more flexible 2012 timescales, and survey shows education could improve pensions situation A radical rethink is necessary on the Department for Work and Pensions’’ (DWP) consultation on auto-enrolment rules, as they could lead to high costs for employers and the leveling down of existing pension provision, warns the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)	12/06/09
Government in danger of creating pensions apartheid UK government has allowed public sector pension liabilities to run “out of control”, claims Policy Exchange	11/06/09
HSBC warns of a ‘perfect storm’ brewing The UK could be hit by a ‘perfect storm’ of financial, individual and demographic elements if people do not close the ‘preparedness gap’ by planning for retirement as soon as possible, says an HSBC report	10/06/09
Administration standards improve as trustees identify scheme risks Financial challenges pose the greatest risks to pension schemes, with investment strategy, scheme funding and non-compliance with legislation the top three worries for trustees, according to Capita Hartshead’s 16th Annual Pensions Administration Survey	9/06/09
Pension Corporation announces first buy-in agreement Pension Insurance Corporation has announced that it has agreed to insure retired pensioners and liabilities valued at £57million in its first buy-in agreement with the trustees of the Warwick International Group Pension Scheme	9/06/09
PPF index posts slight deficit improvement The UK’s defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have improved their estimated funding positions by £9.2bn, to a deficit of £179.3bn at end-May 2009 according to the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) latest PPF7800 index	9/06/09
Four-fifths of 50-year-olds in the dark over private pension changes A worrying 80 per cent of 50-year-olds expect to claim on their private pensions next year, despite changes to the rules which will see them forced to wait another five years, warns Rockingham Retirement	9/06/09
2009 set to be record year for DB closures More pension schemes will close to future defined benefit (DB) accrual over 2009 than ever before, according to Hewitt Associates	8/06/09
Employers face bureaucracy overload in 2012 Proposed DWP regulations on auto-enrolment opt-outs from Personal Account pension schemes are causing concern over the burden of wasteful box-ticking that will be placed on employers	4/06/09
Longevity hedging – the new alternative to pension buyouts? The market for transferring pension scheme risk to an insurance company will fall by half to £4bn this year because of the financial crisis according to a report by Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), leading consultant actuaries	3/06/09
UK could drop to £689bn deficit The UK could be facing a £689bn pensions black-hole by the end of 2009 if companies do not wake up to their current position, warns Xafinity Corporate Solutions	2/06/09
Pension scheme de-risking lower priority for sponsors than trustees Trustees and scheme sponsors have dramatically difference views on the evermore relevant issue of de-risking pension funds, says MetLife Assurance Limited	1/06/09
Trustees adjust creatively to market changes Two-thirds of trustees of defined benefit pension schemes have been re-evaluating their investment strategies in response to the current economic troubles, with well over half switching into corporate bonds, according to a new survey by Aon Consulting	1/06/09
Mercer launches major pension risk management product In response to a growing demand for alternatives to buy-outs, which are less feasible in the current uncertain market, Mercer has developed a more flexible solution	1/06/09
‘Revolving door’ effect of Personal Accounts revealed The introduction of auto-enrolment may just prove to be the push companies need to increase their pension scheme membership, with over 40 per cent of respondents to Capita Hartshead’s sixteenth Annual Pensions Administration Survey saying they plan to auto-enrol all employees into their company scheme before 2012	28/05/09
Companies join forces to create IFA one-stop shop Independent insurance broker Rockingham Retirement is to team up with life firms Prudential, L&G and MGM to form The Annuity Clearing House (ACH), a specialist independent financial adviser (IFA) service that allows them access to a range of annuity products to suit clients’ needs	28/05/09
Enhanced annuity sales continue to grow Enhanced annuities have continued to steal the limelight, with sales in the first quarter of 2009 reaching £443 million, 9.3 per cent higher than the previous quarter, says Watson Wyatt	28/05/09
Trustees to come under greater scrutiny Greater scrutiny on failures in corporate governance and the collapse of the financial system are likely to push pension funds further towards becoming more engaged shareholders, warns Watson Wyatt	27/05/09
Hidden agenda to Budget tax relief cuts? Personal Accounts, due for introduction in 2012, could be helped by the reduced tax relief announced in the Budget 2009, says HamishWilson	27/05/09
UK pension schemes must consider US class actions Monitoring pension schemes is the best way for trustees to work towards recovering money that belongs to them through US class actions in UK pension schemes, according to an industry debate	27/05/09
UK pension arrangements cause “severe competitive disadvantage” for businesses UK businesses are at a “severe competitive disadvantage” in Europe due to weaknesses in private and state pension systems, says Aon Consulting	26/05/09
DC assets on the up but pensioners subject to ‘birthday lottery’ Defined contribution (DC) pension scheme assets have increased for the second consecutive month by ten per cent, to a combined total of £418bn, according to Aon Consulting	25/05/09
Pension system just giant bet on the stockmarket A third of people approaching retirement believe that investing in their pension has been a waste of money, according to research by MetLife	20/05/09
Fixed administration costs favoured by trustees Fifty per cent of trustees admit that they would prefer certainty when it comes to administration costs	19/05/09
Industry debates buy-out market Two sides to the buy-out market have been presented this week, with Hymans Robertson presenting a positive reflection of the £0.9bn of deals, while Aon Consulting warns that the market is feeling the strain with deals down by 50 per cent on the previous quarter	19/05/09
PPF outsources FAS support and advice for first time Trustees for schemes that are winding up under the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) will be supported and assisted by Punter Southall, following a decision by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to appoint the consulting actuaries and administrators	19/05/09
Retirement quote requests on the up The number of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) members seeking retirement quotes has risen by 56 per cent in the last year, according to Aon Consulting	18/05/09
Salary sacrifice avoidance deducts possible £10million Employers are potentially losing out on £10 million of savings by not making use of salary sacrifice opportunities, according to B&CE Benefit Schemes	15/05/09
BT heeds TPR advice to pay pensions over dividends British Telecom (BT) has decided to take radical and swift action over its £4bn final salary scheme pension deficit, by committing to an annual £525million cash injection over the next three years, following the publication of its latest results	14/05/09
Trustees should be wary of longevity swaps Concerns that trustees may rush in to buy longevity swaps without careful consideration have been raised following Babcock International Group’s decision to insure the longevity risk of their pension schemes’ members	14/05/09
Sterling corporate bond market needs reforms The Investment Management Association (IMA) is calling for an overhaul of the sterling corporate bond market, following the publication of its commissioned report, The Impact of the Credit Crunch on the Sterling Corporate Bond Market	14/05/09
Longevity swap milestone takes place in UK A landmark agreement has been reached over the first full transfer of longevity risk from a pension scheme’s balance sheet with a pensions longevity swap	12/05/09
Ministers accused of ‘retrograde’ step over trivial commutation The Government has taken a “huge retrograde step” in respect to the new regulations introduced for trivial commutation, according to First Actuarial	12/05/09
DB funding deficits improve The latest PPF 7800 Index has estimated that the funding position of some 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has improved over the last month, and now stands at a deficit of £188.5bn	12/05/09
PADA: Personal Accounts will not fail The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has responded to claims made by Punter Southall that the national pension saving scheme is set to fail	11/05/09
PADA launches Personal Accounts investment paper The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has launched its consultation paper on investment practice for the national pension savings scheme	07/05/09
Has Budget marked ‘final decline’ of pensions? Proposed changes to pension taxation as outlined in the Government’s 2009 Budget could undermine corporate pension provision, putting them at further risk, warns Hewitt Associates	07/05/09
PPF insolvency solution ‘not foolproof’ The Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) efforts to implement a solution to the failure of insolvency practitioners (IPs) to advise them and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) about pension schemes of insolvent companies is not ‘foolproof’, warns Alexander Forbes Trustee Services	05/05/09
The Hartford pulls out of variable annuity market American investment and insurance group the Hartford has announced that it is withdrawing from the UK variable annuity market and closing its London office with immediate effect, as a result of current and forecast market conditions	05/05/09
Aon moves to track funding position over accounting standards £120bn of losses are hidden by the FRS 17 accounting standards following the financial crisis, says Aon Consulting	01/05/09
Trebling of FTSE350 contributions insufficient in cutting recovery plans Even a trebling of company contributions compared to the level seen in 2007 will be insufficient in preventing the average recovery plan of a FTSE350 defined benefit pension scheme extending beyond 15 years	01/05/09
TPR must make more ‘radical’ insolvency provisions Employee job security should come before pensions, says Mercer	30/4/09
Overly-cautious trustees heap £60bn on funding targets Trustees who are demanding more cash from their sponsors in an effort to meet funding targets are paying the price for their previous caution in relation to scheme contributions, says PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)	27/4/09
One fifth of PPF accounted for by failed Midlands companies The collapse in manufacturing and car production in the Midlands has resulted in the region providing the largest amount of members on the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) books, according to Aon Consulting	27/4/09
Administration costs ‘soared’ in 2008 Administration costs pushed UK pension scheme accounts up by 20 per cent in 2008, according to Watson Wyatt’s annual Pension Scheme Cost Survey	27/4/09
Budget tax relief rules already in use The Budget’s new pension tax relief restrictions on those with paycheques of over £150,000 a year have already been imposed although these rules have been publicised by the Government as due for implementation in 2011, warns Hornbuckle Mitchell	24/4/09
Budget gives salary sacrifice a chance The 2009 Budget has presented high earners with further opportunities to make use of salary sacrifice to boost their pension savings, after Chancellor Alastair Darling announced that those earning over £100,000 will see their personal tax allowance either reduced or simply taken away	22/4/09
TPR’s ‘hidden’ teeth could bite down on corporate actions The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) soon-to-be implemented new powers have ‘hidden’ teeth that could threaten to rip into businesses’ corporate activity, says law firm Dundas & Wilson	21/4/09
Negative RPI works in DB’s favour A period of negative inflation could increase the real value of some defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, although sponsoring companies would suffer, says Watson Wyatt	21/4/09
Employee confidence on the up Employee confidence in pensions has slightly improved over the last year, according to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)	20/4/09
PPF chairman responds to questions over capacity The chairman of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), Lawrence Churchill, has hit back at critics of the organisation by saying that “the only thing that is unsustainable is to not have a protection fund at all”, at the Pensions Age spring conference	17/4/09
PPF swamped by DB deficits The Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) monthly update for March shows a new record deficit for UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, in excess of £250bn	14/4/09
Pension scheme governance must improve Scheme governance is in urgent need of improvement, says HSBC Actuaries and Consultants (HAC), to ensure that trustees avoid taking poor or biased decisions	14/4/09
Trustees losing faith in DB lifespan 87 per cent of trustees have reported that the funding levels of their final salary pension schemes have worsened over the last year, says Aon Consulting	14/4/09
Aviva culls free pensions Following news that Aon is to cut its contributions to members’ pensions by up to half, Aviva has revealed in its annual report that their defined contribution (DC) pension offerings will no longer be free to members	9/4/09
Companies begin to crack under pension strain The FTSE350 deficit has increased from £163bn to £182bn for the first three months of 2009 due to falling asset values and longer-term inflation concerns, according to Hymans Robertson	8/4/09
Wrap platforms set to treble in AUM over next five years The value of assets held on UK wrap platforms is set to treble over the next five years to more than £300bn, says Navigant Consultancy	8/4/09
Women to suffer pensions shortfall The 2.76million women in the UK who plan to retire in 2009 can expect to receive £6,642 a year less in their annual pensions than men, equivalent to a total income shortfall of more that £42bn, according to Prudential	7/4/09
DC legacy set to take hold The costs of keeping those who are no longer employees in a company’s defined contribution (DC) pension scheme can no longer be ignored by employers, and will be the next major pensions issues, warns Towers Perrin	6/4/09
Aggregate FTSE100 pension funds see £245bn “economic” deficit The total deficit of FTSE100 pension funds has almost doubled from £124bn at the end of March 2008 to £245bn at the end of March 2009 on an ‘economic basis’, says Redington Partners	6/4/09
IFAs must double annuity business Some Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) may need to double the annuity business they write in order to stay in business, according to recent research from Just Retirement	6/4/09
Lifestyle defaults come under fire Automatic lifestyling default funds may be doing more harm than good to pension pots in the current environment, by selling equity and property assets at low levels and then locking investors into gilts and cash, says a pensions IFA	6/4/09
Longevity swaps to climb up the radar It is only a matter of months before UK pension schemes decide to invest in longevity swaps to protect against their members living longer, predicts Watson Wyatt	3/4/09
FAS and PPF changes must retain justice and practicality The importance of taxpayer support must not be overlooked when it comes to any changes to the rules regarding payments to pensioners from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) when a scheme transfers into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), says First Actuarial	3/4/09
PPF hits landmark transfer The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has taken its 100th pension scheme under its wing	2/4/09
New fiduciary management offering on the market Dutch firm Mn Services Investment Management has launched its fiduciary management offering in the UK	2/4/09
DB deficits delete £46bn from pension accounts Companies have been forced to wipe £46bn off of their year-end accounts due to massive pension losses for the year ending 31 March 2009, says Aon Consulting	1/4/09
MPs may pay more towards their pensions MPs may be asked to contribute more towards their pensions to help alleviate the Parliamentary pension scheme’s deficit, Harriet Harman, leader of the House of Commons, has announced	31/3/09
Quantitative easing causes scheme volatility Pension schemes will have to brace themselves for increased volatility in their deficit figures, because of quantitative easing, according to pension consultants	31/3/09
SIPP investors must be wary of uninsured commercial property Choosing to uninsured commercial property through self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) in could be putting retirement income at risk, says Oval Insurance Broking	26/3/09
Local Government scheme deficits could hit council tax bills The UK could be subject to massive council tax rises due to spiralling Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) deficits	25/3/09
Threat of insolvency poses DB-DC dilemma Members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are in a catch-22 situation when it comes to deciding whether to transfer out of their scheme or stay where they are and risk major retirement losses should insolvency hit, says Aon Consulting	25/3/09
Employers and trustees could be liable for poor decisions Trustees and employers could be on the receiving end of defined contribution (DC) scheme members’ wrath and be forced to take the blame for bad investment decisions, warns Wedlake Bell	24/3/09
Pension schemes bury heads in the sand over scheme funding Over half of pension schemes do not know how their funding position has been affected by the recession, despite over 60 per cent of them receiving quarterly or more frequent updates from actuarial organisations, according to Punter Southall	23/3/09
Drawdown pensioners hit by falling GAD rate Pensioners who have opted for income drawdown, allowing them to defer converting their pension pot into an annuity or income for life, have been hit by a drop in the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) rate, says Rockingham Retirement	18/3/09
Pension Corporation breaks the bad news mould Pension Corporation (PC) was one of the few firms to have a successful 2008, writing £1.6bn of new insurance business	18/3/09
Trustees requesting more guidance in downturn The financial downturn has forced pension scheme trustees to seek guidance on governance, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates which shows that there was a 50 per cent increase in requests for governance services	17/3/09
Retirees £884 worse off than 2008 2009 retirees can expect to receive £884 a year less than those who retired last year, says Prudential	17/3/09
Cherie Booth on board for RBS class action Cherie Booth QC has been hired by North Yorkshire and Merseyside council pension funds to act as special advisor in their application for lead plaintiff in a class action against RBS in the US courts	17/3/09
Employees question pension fund safety Less than a half of UK employees believe their occupational pension fund is safe, and a further quarter have neither a positive nor negative view, according to JLT Benefit Solutions	17/3/09
Recession cannot deter ‘hardy’ trustees The vast majority of pension fund trustees remain committed to their responsibilities despite the pressures of the credit crunch, says Aon Consulting	17/3/09
Friends Provident sets aside £217 million to cover corporate bond loans Friends Provident has set aside £217million to cover corporate bond loans, an increase of £127million on 2007’s reserve	17/3/09
Four in ten schemes opting for risk transfer in economic turmoil Four in ten schemes are being pushed towards risk transfer as a result of market volatility, according to MetLife Assurance	16/3/09
FSA to publish account of system failures The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will release a report this week addressing the current issues in the financial market, such as transparency and accounting, and the issues the system may face in the future	16/3/09
DC pensions drop a further £42bn February brought yet more woe for Britain’s defined contribution (DC) with asset losses of ten per cent, equivalent of £42bn, according to Aon Consulting	16/3/09
Industry ‘has erred’ The pensions industry has “done things that have gone wrong,” according to Arno Kitts, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) Investment Council	13/3/09
Investment consultancies impress their pension fund clients The majority of pension funds in the UK are satisfied with their investment consultants, according to the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) latest Assessing Investment Consultants Performance survey	12/3/09
NAPF publishes guidance for pension funds in the UK The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has enhanced the guidance available to UK pension schemes with the publication of its Hedge Funds Made Simple document and its updated guidance on responsible investment	12/3/09
Pension funds to blame? Pension funds carry some of the blame for the current financial crisis because of a serious failure in corporate governance, according to public opinion	11/3/09
Consumers need more annuity choice The annuity product market is in dire need of innovation, and it is time flexibility for consumers came to the fore, says Living Time’s Dave Harris	10/3/09
Economic rescue plan a ‘double-edged sword’ for pension schemes The Bank of England’s decision to introduce up to £150bn of quantitative easing into UK capital markets has been detrimental to pension funds, says Hymans Robertson	9/3/09
Gilt based funding could move schemes by 30% Pension funds are considering a move to gilts-based funding measures as a result of widening credit spreads, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates	9/3/09
Funds must be prepared for new S2P rules Sponsors and trustees of pension schemes contracted out of the State Second Pension (S2P) must ensure that the new Upper Accrual Point has been taken into account in their payroll systems, scheme rules and member communications, says Mercer	9/3/09
ECJ rules on Heyday case The European Court of Justice has published its decision on the Heyday case, ruling that the UK’s default retirement age can be considered legitimate	5/3/09
Auto-enrolment plays with the figures Many of the people who will be auto-enrolled into pensions from 2012 will be on relatively low incomes, meaning the contribution rates will be lower than the benchmark of eight per cent, says Watson Wyatt	5/3/09
Aviva reveals impressive worldwide pensions growth figures Life and pension product provider Aviva has released its preliminary results for 2008, revealing that life and pensions sales increased by 11 per cent to £36.283mln globally	5/3/09
Deficits like a game of roulette Pension funds were brought to their knees on Monday 2 March with the biggest single day loss on record of £27bn, according to Aon Consulting	5/3/09
USS moves into increasingly popular hedge fund sector The UK’s second largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Ltd has secured its move into hedge funds with the appointment of its first manager	4/3/09
Annuity advisers told to beat it by those nearing retirement Almost half of those planning to retire in the next five years do not intend to seek advice on annuity purchases, says MetLife Europe Limited (MetLife)	4/3/09
Contract-based DC schemes still offer mind-boggling choice of investments Two thirds of contract-based defined contribution (DC) pension schemes in the FTSE100 offer members 50 or more investment options, says Watson Wyatt	3/3/09
Pensions law must change to alleviate pension deficit pressure Aon has called on the Government to re-consider the implementation of its indexation promises in order to help alleviate the pension burden on some of the country’s largest employers	2/3/09
Barnett Waddingham and MetLife join forces on buy-outs Barnett Waddingham and MetLife Assurance have clubbed together to offer buy-out arrangements for small-sized pension schemes	2/3/09
Royal Mail pension fund in danger of failing members Lord Peter Mandelson has begun his campaign for the part-privatisation of Royal Mail in an attempt to alleviate its pension deficit	26/2/09
Diversification was top choice in 2008 Diversification into alternative asset classes remained a popular option for UK pension funds in a disastrous 2008, says Watson Wyatt, with particular attention paid to direct hedge funds and direct private equity	24/2/09
Companies must foot £3bn Personal Accounts bill Personal Accounts could put a £3bn bill on the desks of UK companies, says Mercer	24/2/09
AIMA launches transparency initiative for hedge funds The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has launched a new transparency initiative, supporting the principle of full transparency and supervisory disclosure of risk exposures and positions by hedge fund managers to their national regulators	24/2/09
Trustees pushed to limit Trustee training has taken a backseat for a quarter of respondents to Independent Trustee Services Ltd’s (ITS) Survey on Trustee Governance due to time and resource restraints	23/2/09
Crisis has been wake-up call for DC provision Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes will come out of the economic crisis in a better position than they went in, says Watson Wyatt	23/2/09
Credit crunch claims third of pension values Employees’ pensions have been slashed by over a third due to the credit crunch, according to Aon’s new defined contribution (DC) Pension Tracker	19/2/09
Group SIPP use set to rise Group corporate self-invested pension plans (SIPPs) are increasing in popularity among UK businesses, with 27 per cent of respondents to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey saying that they plan to make this their main pension arrangement	19/2/09
TPR reassures members on DB funding regime The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has released a second statement to UK employers who sponsor final salary pension schemes with advice regarding the current economic conditions	18/2/09
Value element of many DC plans questioned again Towry Law has added to recent criticism of current defined contribution (DC) pension scheme plans, saying that many are failing to deliver good value to employers and employees	16/2/09
DB schemes and PPF will suffer from IAS19 changes Proposed changes to the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) IAS19 – Accounting for Employee Benefits standard, could undermine the future funding of defined benefit (DB) schemes and heap more pressure on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), says Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)	16/2/09
PPF changes could alienate LDI The newly proposed Pension Protection Fund (PPF) Levy calculations will not give credit to pension schemes that have reduced their investment risk through certain liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies, fears PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)	16/2/09
BT to cough up £16.6m penalty to PPF British Telecom could be landed with a £16.6million Pension Protection Fund (PPF) penalty fine after the European Commission ruled that it had an “unfair competitive advantage” over levy payments	11/2/09
Pension funds need to stop ‘self-destructive’ practices Global pension systems are in dire need of reform in order to alleviate the global financial crisis, according to the Network of Sustainable Financial Markets	10/2/09
Standard Life buckles and compensates cash fund customers Standard Life has announced that it will compensate customers who invested in the Pension Sterling Fund and lost out in the 4.8 per cent fall in unit price, admitting that its Pension Sterling Fund literature has fallen short of its “usual high standards”	10/2/09
USS welcomes guidelines to Responsible Investments The US Private Equity Council (PEC) has published their Guidelines for Responsible Investment, which have been welcomed by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s second largest pension fund	10/2/09
End in sight for conversion fees? Rockingham Retirement has, it hopes, opened a can of worms within the annuity industry and financial advisory space by scrapping its £195 administration fee on all pension funds of £20,000 and under	10/2/09
L&G takes buy-out top spot for 2008 Buy-out giant Paternoster has been knocked off the top spot in the bulk annuity stakes by Legal & General (L&G), now the market leader by the value of deals it has underwritten	9/2/09
Trustees cannot bypass insolvency preparations Trustees of pension funds must remain alert as a sharp increase in the number of corporate insolvencies highlights the needs for them to assess their companies’ ability to meet their pension commitments, says Watson Wyatt	6/2/09
Means-testing hot potato thrown aside in DWP report The pensions industry is split over a newly published report by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that claims that 95 per cent of savers will be better off once auto-enrolment comes into play in 2012	5/2/09
Enhanced annuity sales increase threefold The UK recorded an increase of 31.9 per cent in the sales of enhanced annuities in 2008, taking the total to £1.44bn, say consultants at Watson Wyatt	4/2/09
IAS19 distorting £163bn pensions deficit Hymans Robertson’s newly launched pension deficits measure, penSAFE, has shown that the total deficit faced by FTSE350 companies amounts to £163bn	4/2/09
Safeguard Rights to be abolished The abolition of the safeguarded rights legislation on 6 April 2009 will benefit divorced people, in particular women, say industry experts	4/2/09
Standard Life wins BT mandate Standard Life has been appointed by BT to develop a Corporate Self Invested Personal Pension (CSIPP) plan in place of its trust based defined contribution (DC) schemes	3/2/09
Standard Life quashes toxic mortgage rumours - EXCLUSIVE Standard Life has hit back at allegations that its Pensions Sterling Fund had investments in toxic mortgages	30/1/09
Value of pensions spend is questioned Fewer than twenty per cent of employers believe they are getting full value from the money they spend on their employees’ pensions, says Watson Wyatt	30/1/09
PPF: Rubenstein has the X-factor The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced that its next chief executive will be Alan Rubenstein	29/1/09
DB collapse ‘biggest opportunity for the SIPP market for years’ The self-invested personal pension (SIPP) market has been handed its ‘biggest opportunity for some years’ by the collapse of defined benefit pension schemes, says Suffolk Life’s director of sales and marketing, John Moret	29/1/09
Buy-out index records difficult Q4 2008 The Paternoster buy-out index suffered hugely in the fourth quarter of 2008 (Q4 2008) as a result of market volatility over the year	28/1/09
Standard Life pension sales fall Standard Life plc has recorded an eleven per cent decrease in pension sales for the year 2008	28/1/09
Buy-out market could match 2008 levels The pension buy-out market for 2009 will match levels reached in 2008, claims Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP)	27/1/09
Government procrastination over trivial commutation adding to scheme costs - EXCLUSIVE Decisive action is needed to take trustees out of the “limbo” they are currently caught in over the new trivial commutation rules, according to First Actuarial	27/1/09
Extinction of DB by no means certain Closure of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is not the only option available to companies caught in the grasp of the credit crunch, says Hewitt Associates	26/1/09
Pension benefits hit top grade for teachers Teachers have chalked up £6.7bn in new pension benefits in the year to 31 March 2008, according to 2007/8 resource accounts for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales)	23/1/09
NAPF draws up Action Plan to salvage DB pensions Over half of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes currently open to new members are in danger of closing as a result of the current financial crisis, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)	23/1/09
Norwich Union property fund collapses under economic pressure Norwich Union has announced that it has temporarily deferred settlements on its unit-linked property fund (Life and Pensions)	22/1/09
Paternoster total assets reach £2.7bn The value of assets transferred to insurance company Paternoster reached £2.7bn in 2008	22/1/09
RDR ‘fudge’ will lead to cut in IFA numbers The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will serve to cut the number of independent financial advisers (IFAs) operating in the UK, fear senior insurance executives	21/1/09
Nearly half of the UK population will run out of pension money by age 85 Forty-one per cent of the UK’s population will run out of retirement income by the time they reach the age of 85, according to Lincoln Financial Group	21/1/09
Women still confused about vital pensions changes Changes to women’s pensions are misunderstood by many, according to the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS)	20/1/09
Investors and trustees urged not to feed the recession fire Dramatised reactions to pension debts could worsen the recession, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)	19/1/09
FTSE350 deficit more than doubles The FTSE350 pensions deficit has increased by £20bn from £13bn at 31 December 2007 to £33bn, with a fourfold increase in the threat of default for the ten per cent of companies most at risk, says Mercer	19/1/09
Pension funds must become responsible investors The Government must press pension funds to become responsible investors, says the Trades Union Congress (TUC)	19/1/09
Recession fails to crunch on customer satisfaction Customers remain satisfied with the financial services they receive despite the recession, says the Institute of Consumer Service (ICS)	16/1/09
Government forms scheme to amend for Equitable Life Those most heavily affected by the Equitable Life debacle are to receive ex-gratia payments from the Government by a new scheme that it has pledged to launch	15/1/09
PADA launches search for scheme administrator The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has officially invited companies to tender for the job of administering the national pension saving scheme	15/1/09
Retirement no longer beckons for quarter of Brits Twenty-three per cent of Brits will be forced to retire later than they had planned, according to new research from Life Trust	14/1/09
Advisers to reap benefits of credit crunch Risk-savvy consumers are analysing their investment portfolios and identifying long-term buying opportunities as a result of the credit crunch, says AXA	14/1/09
Schemes disenchanted with fee levels Pension schemes are calling on investment managers to cut their fees, according to a survey by bfinance	12/1/09
Inadequate retirement feared to shorten life One third of retirees are approaching retirement with trepidation as they believe poor provision will lead them to an early grave, according to Club Vita	12/1/09
Actuaries ‘should be subject to further quality controls’ The actuarial profession needs to be subject to extra quality control measures when it comes to pensions, according to the Financial Reporting Council’s Professional Oversight Board (POB)	9/1/09
Employers waste millions on DC pensions Eighty-five million pounds are wasted each year on running occupational defined contribution (DC) pension schemes rather than contract-based Group Personal Pension or Stakeholder schemes, says Alexander Forbes Financial Services (AFFS)	9/1/09
TPR updates clearance and abandonment guidance The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) clearance and abandonment guidance have been reviewed and amended to better fall in line with amendments in the Pensions Act 2008	8/1/09
UK pension funds burnt by equities in 2008 UK pension funds suffered the first negative yearly returns since the three-year downturn at the beginning of the century, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, proving themselves to be vulnerable to last year’s extraordinary market volatility	5/1/09
AMPS sees that DWP clarifies Protected Rights policy The administration of Protected Rights funds into self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) has been clarified by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) following consultation with the Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS)	6/1/09
Bluefin launches into market The AXA group’s new financial services firm, Bluefin, has been officially launched in the UK	6/1/09
Smaller firms losing grip on DB schemes Ninety-one per cent of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in firms with 250 or fewer employees are now closed to new entrants, with half also closed to any future accrual, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA)	5/1/09
FSA pledges to extend short selling disclosure regime The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has proposed an extension to its temporary disclosure regime until 30 June 2009 for significant net short positions in the stocks of UK financial sector companies	5/1/09