Pension news
Week ending 30 October 2020
The Government plans to require trustees to give their DC members a stronger nudge towards taking guidance, based on a statement of policy intent published this week. Trials carried out earlier this year showed that nudging members more strongly towards Pension Wise did increase the take up of the guidance service. The new proposals will require trustees and managers to:
- present taking pension guidance as a ‘normal’ part of the process of transferring/accessing a pension pot
- incorporate booking a Pension Wise appointment into their member engagement process, at the point when a member indicates they would like to take guidance.
The DWP intends to issue draft regulations for consultation, whilst the FCA will also consult on similar regulations for contract-based schemes. No specific timescales have been given for implementation.
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has published a progress report. This provides a summary of what the PDP has achieved since April 2020 and a high-level plan of future activity. The plan shows that dashboards are expected to be available from 2023. This is the point at which schemes and providers will be compelled by law to provide information to the dashboards. The PDP notes that this is an indicative timeline, which will be refined in the next six months.
The FCA, TPR and MaPS have issued a joint statement saying they have been engaging with Rolls Royce and the trustees of its DB scheme as a result of a spike in transfer requests following redundancies. The FCA has also issued a data request to 65 financial advisers who have advised members on transfers out of the scheme.
DC governance
Our DC governance solutions are suitable for large and smaller arrangements, with the latter under increasing scrutiny from TPR
Actuarial advice
We provide comprehensive and truly independent actuarial advice to help companies manage their defined benefit liabilities successfully
DB governance
Our award-winning governance offering can help you make small adjustments to your DB governance or provide a root and branch review
Web services
We have a wide range of technology solutions that can be tailored to your specific needs
Operational support
We provide additional resource or dedicated project management for specialist or one-off projects
Recent publications
20 November 2020
In the news this week, the second Lloyds judgement says that historic transfer payments need to reflect GMP equalisation, the Pension Schemes Bill moves back to the Lords, TPR gets tough on AE compliance, the FCA surveys DB transfer advisers again and another buy-in is completed.
Pensions Arena October 2020
This quarter’s Arena has a summary of our recent Pensions Perspective, “Endgame planning comes of age”, which looked at how long-term funding and investment plans are evolving and why companies are increasingly taking the lead in designing an endgame strategy. It also shows all the usual financial and investment analysis for the quarter ending 30 September 2020.
Endgame planning
Journey plans or glide paths may have been around for a long time but they’re at the heart of the Regulator’s proposed new funding code. In this Pensions Perspective, Leonard Bowman looks at how long-term funding and investment plans are evolving and explains why companies are increasingly taking the lead in designing an endgame strategy for their schemes.
Pensions Arena July 2020
This quarter’s Arena has a summary of our recent Pensions Perspective, “Emerging from lockdown”, which looked at how best to tackle the most common pension issues which companies are currently facing. It also shows all the usual financial and investment analysis for the quarter ending 30 June 2020.
Emerging from lockdown
As we keep hearing, we are living in unprecedented times. However, as we turn our attention to the future, what does the “new normal” mean for defined benefit pension schemes? In this Pensions Perspective, Leonard Bowman considers the most common pension issues that companies are facing and how best to ensure that the company approaches these on the front foot.
Unit 13A | Church Farm Business Park | Corston | Bath | BA2 9AP | Telephone: +44 (0) 1225 481450
Registered Address: 37 Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DA | Company Registered in England & Wales Company No. 07975135
