IPE's United Kingdom Coverage – Page 274
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News
UK: WPP default fund charges 'should have stakeholder cap'
[17:00 CEST 24-09] UK - The default fund in workplace personal pensions (WPP) will need to carry charges below the current stakeholder pension level if they are to qualify for auto-enrolment, according to draft guidance published today by the UK government.
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News
LGA explores LGPS funding for schools
[16:30 CEST 24-09] UK – The executive of the Local Government Association (LGA) has authorised further investigation into the potential for establishing a collective investment fund for local authority pension schemes, so they may band together to invest in Private Finance Initiatives (PFI).
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News
Pensions can be delivered at 12% cost - think-tank
[17:00 CEST 22-09] UK – The pensions threshold within which personal accounts holders can save should be raised beyond the current £3,600 proposed by the government, but doing so might be beneficial to policyholders as evidence suggests pensions can be delivered for a total charge of 0.5%, according to a study conducted a policy think-tank.
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NewsUK proposes flexibility on employer debt rules
[16:38 CEST 18-09] UK - Rules on how companies pay money into their pension schemes when they restructure may change under government proposals announced yesterday.
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News
Aggregate FTSE 250 pension deficit hits £12bn
[17:00 CEST 16-09] UK – The total deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes run by companies listed on the FTSE 250 index doubled to £12bn (€13.5bn) over the 12 months to the end of June, research from Pension Capital Strategies (PCS) has suggested.
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News
Brent moves into infrastructure
[16:45 CEST 15-09] UK – The London Borough of Brent has awarded a £25m (€28.2m) infrastructure mandate to Alinda Capital Partners as part of a diversification investment strategy.
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News
Two-thirds of UK workforce ‘unpensioned’ - TUC
[17:35 CEST 14-09] UK - Coverage of defined contribution (DC) schemes is not growing fast enough to fill the gap left by the continuing closure of defined benefit (DB) schemes, leaving two-thirds of the private sector workforce without a pension, according to data from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
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News
Northumberland scheme improves by £30m in Q2
[17:30 CEST 14-09] UK – The value of the Northumberland County Council pension fund increased by more than £30m (€34.1m) in the second quarter.
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News
Vauxhall pensions ‘unlikely to change’ after GM Europe sale
[17:40 CEST 11-09] UK – GM’s decision to sell its Vauxhall subsidiary to the Canadian company Magna International, along with its German operation Opel, is very unlikely to affect the Vauxhall pension schemes, according to officials at the UK car manufacturing group.
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News
Gloucestershire appoints global equity manager
[17:00 CEST 11-09] UK - Gloucestershire County Council has appointed GMO as global equity manager for its £737.5m (€843.2m) pension fund.
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News
Longevity may cut private pension income to 5.9% of GDP - PPI
[17:00 CEST 10-09] UK - Income from private pension schemes could fall from an estimated 6.1% of UK GDP in 2012, to 5.9% by 2032, if life expectancy increases in line with projections, according to the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).
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News
UK DB schemes target 83% buyout funding level
[16:45 CEST 09-09] UK – The average target funding level for defined benefit (DB) schemes has increased from 69% to 83% of funds required for a buyout, according to latest research from Mercer.
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News
Hillingdon seeks global infrastructure manager
[17:10 CEST 08-09] UK - The London Borough of Hillingdon Pension Fund has launched a tender for a manager to run a global infrastructure mandate.
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News
UK DB deficit increases to £173bn
[16:15 CEST 08-09] UK - The aggregate deficit of almost 7,400 DB funds worsened by £15.1bn (€17.3bn) over the month of August to reach £173.2bn by the month-end, according to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).
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News
BT refuses to be drawn on partial buy-out rumours
[17:55 CEST 07-09] UK - Both BT and Hermes, investment managers of the BT Pension Scheme, have refused to comment on press speculation that BT is considering a partial buyout of the scheme.
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News
Waltham Forest appoints HSBC for investment advice
[17:20 CEST 07-09] UK - The London Borough of Waltham Forest has awarded a £150,000 (€171,585) contract to HSBC Actuaries & Consultants for investment consultancy services to its pension fund. HSBC were chosen from five interested parties who made offers.
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News
Hammersmith and Whitbread reveal strategic decisions
[15:30 CEST 04-09] UK – The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has decided against adopting a currency hedge strategy for its £438.5m (€503.4m) pension fund, but will keep the option under review.
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NewsUK DB liabilities top £1trn
[17:15 CEST 01-09] UK – The combined pension liabilities shown in company accounts for the UK’s 200 largest privately-sponsored pension schemes has reached £500bn (€567bn) for the first time, according to Aon Consulting.
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News
Lothian focuses on alternatives in new strategy
[17:00 CEST 01-09] UK – Lothian Pension Fund is set to increase its allocation to alternative assets from 24% to 35% in a gradual transition to its new investment strategy.
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FeaturesUK: A chink of light
A small compromise in the treatment of accrued rights might signal a more flexible approach to benefit indexation in the future, finds Liam Kennedy
