IPE's United Kingdom Coverage – Page 266

  • News

    PPF levy remains stable, for now

    2009-06-23T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 23-06] UK – The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has honoured previous commitments by confirming the levy for 2010/11 will be £700m (€817.2m), indexed to wages, although it warned schemes the levy may rise in the future to allow the PPF to meet its commitments.

  • News

    TPR warns of need for 'prudence' in funding

    2009-06-23T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 23-06] UK – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has stressed the importance of "prudent" funding levels for pension schemes, and warned that while flexibility is available in recovery plans the pension scheme and members "should not be disadvantaged".

  • News

    Balanced pension funds pull back short-term gains

    2009-06-23T15:25:00Z

    [16:25 CEST 23-06] UK – There is now evidence of improvement to three-year equity returns to pension fund assets, as the latest BNY Mellon CAPS pooled pension fund figures show, in the main, assets have continued to recover.

  • News

    Eq Life ex-gratia office appoints actuary

    2009-06-22T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CEST 22-06] UK – Towers Perrin has been appointed as actuarial advisers to the office of Sir John Chadwick, which was established as an independent government adviser on the development of an ex-gratia payment scheme for Equitable Life policyholders.

  • News

    DWP rejects calls for further FAS funding

    2009-06-22T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CEST 22-06] UK – The government has rejected suggestions that it should increase funding to the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) and allow it to cover all lost benefits when a scheme has wound up, by arguing that the FAS was never intended to replicate each pension fund's structure of ...

  • News

    Dairy Crest mulls pension future after buy-in

    2009-06-19T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 19-06] UK – Dairy Crest has revealed it is in consultation with staff regarding the future of its defined benefit (DB) scheme, after completing a second buy-in of pensioner liabilities.

  • News

    Goodwin pension cut avoids legal uncertainty

    2009-06-19T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 19-06] UK – Legal protections prohibiting employers from retrieving pension benefits remain in tact after Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) after Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive, agreed to voluntarily reduce his annual pension to £342,500 (€404,046).

  • Leicestershire awards target return mandate
    News

    Leicestershire awards target return mandate

    2009-06-19T16:00:00Z

    [17:00 CEST 19-06] UK – Leicestershire County Council has appointed two managers to run a target return portfolio, estimated at around £300m for its £1.5bn (€1.75bn) pension fund.

  • News

    Pension costs deter private sector bids

    2009-06-16T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 16-06] UK – The government needs to “level the playing field” and stop private sector companies having to pay up to three times as much in pension costs than the public sector following staff transfers, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned.

  • 'Prudent' pension accounting adds £40bn
    News

    'Prudent' pension accounting adds £40bn

    2009-06-15T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 15-06] UK – The voluntary adoption of prudent accounting assumptions when calculating pension liabilities has already added an additional £40bn (€47bn) onto UK company balance sheets, and future changes to accounting rules could impact companies by a further £70bn, KPMG has warned.

  • Tories table pension tax relief amendments
    News

    Tories table pension tax relief amendments

    2009-06-15T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 15-06] UK – Proposed amendments to the Finance Bill 2009 to limit the impact of anti-forestalling measures ahead of the reduction of higher rate tax relief on pension contributions from 2011 have been introduced by Conservative MPs.

  • Scots gov't to pay for backdated police pensions
    News

    Scots gov't to pay for backdated police pensions

    2009-06-12T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 12-06] UK – The Scottish government has confirmed it will pay an additional £20m (€23.4m) to fund the cost of backdating police pension commutation arrangements to 1 December 2006 following the results of a judicial review.

  • Strathclyde deficit hits £2.6bn
    News

    Strathclyde deficit hits £2.6bn

    2009-06-12T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 12-06] UK – Strathclyde Pension Fund is moving forward with changes to its investment strategy, with the appointment of two absolute return bond managers and a tender search for a transition manager, as its deficit hits £2.6bn (€3.04bn).

  • News

    Merseyside drops 17.7% in 2008-09

    2009-06-12T15:55:00Z

    [16:55 CEST 12-06] UK – The Merseyside Pension Fund posted an annual return of -17.7% for the year ending March 2009, equivalent to a decline of £800m (€938m).

  • News

    Public sector liabilities hit £1.1trn

    2009-06-11T16:20:00Z

    [17:20 CEST 11-06] UK – Unfunded public sector pension liabilities have reached £1.1trn (€1.29trn), according to research by the Policy Exchange, leading to calls for the arrangements to be switched to a funded basis through the creation of a new public sector pension body.

  • News

    Northern Rock deficit revised to £60m

    2009-06-11T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 11-06] UK – Trustees of the Northern Rock Pension Scheme have revised the estimated deficit in the plan down from £100m to £60m (€71m) following a provisional funding agreement with the government, subject to review later in the year.

  • News

    Economic downturn has halted pensions saving

    2009-06-10T16:05:00Z

    [17:05 CEST 10-06] GLOBAL – The economic downturn has led more than one in 10 of the global population to stop saving for retirement , HSBC has revealed.

  • News

    Oxfordshire seeks actuarial services

    2009-06-10T15:35:00Z

    [16:35 CEST 10-06] UK – Oxfordshire County Council is seeking an actuary for its £796m (€925m) local government pension scheme.

  • News

    SSRB consults on future of MP pensions

    2009-06-10T15:10:00Z

    [16:10 CEST 10-06] UK – The Senior Salaries Review Board (SSRB) has issued a consultation to gather feedback on the future of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF), which includes proposals for reducing costs and the possibility of switching to a different pension arrangement.

  • News

    BIS rejects 'Royal Mail sale is dead' claim

    2009-06-09T16:10:00Z

    [17:10 CEST 09-06] UK – The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has rejected reports suggesting the part-privatisation section of the Postal Services Bill has been scrapped, claiming all three parts of the Bill will go ahead as a "package", albeit with a potential delay.