IPE's United Kingdom Coverage – Page 272
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News
UK pension funds predicted to return 14% in 2009
[16:00 CET 05-01] UK – The average UK pension fund produced an estimated weighted 14% average return on investments in 2009, compared with -13.8% return the previous year, according to figures from BNY Mellon Asset Servicing.
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Call for UK pension rules to be standardised
[16:00 CET 04-01] UK – Rules allowing members of occupational defined contribution (DC) schemes to take benefits of less than £2,000 (€2,245) regardless of other pension savings should be extended to contract-based DC schemes, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
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UK roundup: ONS and Public Sector Pensions Commission
[14:00 CET 21-12] UK – The net investment of self-administered pension funds fell by £7.9bn (€8.9bn) in the third quarter of 2009 to total just £2.8bn, the Office of National Statistics has revealed.
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Cadbury completes £500m buy-in with PIC
[16:15 CET 16-12] UK - Trustees of the £2bn (€2.2bn) Cadbury Pension Fund have agreed a buy-in for around £500m of their pensioner liabilities with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).
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Berkshire completes first LGPS longevity deal
[16:15 CET 15-12] UK – The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) has completed the first longevity hedging deal for a local government pension scheme (LGPS).
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BA deficit exceeds €4bn as trustee chair steps down
[16:00 CET 14-12] UK – British Airways has announced it has a combined pensions deficit of £3.7bn (€4.1bn) in its two defined benefit (DB) schemes, but it has at least reached a provisional agreement with trustees over its actuarial calculations.
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Ofgem goes ahead with 15yr DB funding period
[16:15 CET 11-12] UK – Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, is to continue with plans to apply a 15-year optional funding period across all energy companies, in a bid to recover the cost of pension deficits from customers.
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UK public sector pension cap is 'scam' - Ros Altmann
UK – Expected savings of around £1bn (€1.1bn) a year on public sector pensions, following the introduction of a cap on taxpayer contributions, is a “scam” according to a pensions expert.
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UK employee contributions outstrip employers
[17:05 CET 09-12] UK – Employee contributions to funded pension schemes reached £42.5bn in 2008, overtaking the rate of employer contributions for the first time in six years.
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Pension funds weakened corporate recovery – Watson Wyatt
[16:20 CET 07-12] UK - Deficits in final salary pension schemes are making it much harder for UK companies to restructure and prepare themselves for an economic recovery, according to research by Watson Wyatt and the UK employers organisation the CBI.
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UK roundup: Warwick University, Bangor University, Lloyds TSB
[15:45 CET 07-12] UK – Warwick University, Bangor University and Lloyds Banking Group are the latest organisations to announce changes to their final salary pension schemes, in a bid to make them more sustainable.
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First Quench heads for PPF assessment
[15:30 CET 07-12] UK – The First Quench Pension Scheme is in the process of entering the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment period, following the collapse of the sponsoring employer First Quench Retailing, formerly known as Threshers.
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Ofcom review questions BT pension holidays
[16:40 CET 01-12] UK – Ofcom, the UK regulator of the communications industry, has questioned the role of pension contribution holidays taken by BT in the 1990s, as part of a consultation to assess whether other telecoms firms should now help plug the BT Pension Scheme deficit.
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UK firm uses project assets to cut pension deficit
[16:50 CET 27-11] UK – Interserve, a UK services, maintenance and building group, has transferred its stake in a portfolio of 13 Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) to its £400m (€441m) pension scheme to help reduce its funding deficit.
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UK pension funds demand more long-dated bond issuance
[16:30 CET 27-11] UK - Four-fifths of UK pension funds want to see the government issue more long-dated and index-linked gilts as a way of guaranteeing returns. This follows a year where the number of defined benefit (DB) schemes remaining open to new members fell to an all-time low.
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UK roundup - Essex, Strathclyde, Equitable Life and Telent
[16:00 CET 25-11] UK – Essex County Council is re-tendering the contract for investment consultants to its pension fund, while Strathclyde is tendering three property mandates.
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ASB maintains support for risk free discount rate
[16:45 CET 20-11] UK – The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has reiterated its view that pension fund accounting should use ‘risk free’ discount rates, as evidence suggests the UK AA corporate bond rate reduced the level of reported liabilities making schemes appear stronger than they were.
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NewsC&W to split UK scheme as part of demerger
[14:00 CET 18-11] UK – Cable & Wireless has confirmed its UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme will be split in half as part of the demerger of its worldwide arm.
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NewsUK telecoms firms could be forced to plug BT pension
[14:00 CET 13-11] UK – UK-based telecoms companies could in future be required to indirectly contribute to the BT Group's defined benefit pension fund, as Ofcom, the communications regulator, is reviewing the pricing level of charges for BT's wholesale services to other communication companies.
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UK DB funding roundup: Inflation worries hit deficits
[15:00 CET 12-11] UK – The aggregate funding position of almost 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes improved by more than £50bn to a deficit of £97.6bn (€108.1bn) after updated valuation assumptions reduced liabilities by 7%, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed.
