Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 361
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UK regulator to unveil auto-enrollment enforcement strategy
UK – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is planning to issue a consultation on its enforcement strategy in relation to employer compliance with the 2012 pension reforms later this year.
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UK industry maintains concerns over tax changes
UK – Industry commentators have attacked the lack of any government climbdown over plans to restrict tax relief on pension contributions for higher earners.
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Dutch associations want one-step retirement age jump
NETHERLANDS – If the tax-facilitated retirement age is to be raised it should be carried out in a single step, rather than as a gradual rise, the Dutch pension fund organisations VB, OPF and UvB have argued together with the insurers representative body, VvV.
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UK roundup: DWP on default funds, Northumberland Council and ECM
UK – The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is scrapping plans for a charge cap on default funds in workplace personal pensions (WPPs) following industry feedback, while Northumberland County Council is seeking a UK bond manager for its pension scheme following concerns about its current manager, ECM.
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Irish Ombudsman scrutinises audit failings
IRELAND – Paul Kenny, the Pensions Ombudsman, has warned he intends to place more focus on the actions of auditors when signing off financial accounts in cases where companies have failed to pass on pension contributions deducted from employees' wages.
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French pension contribution period expected to rise
FRANCE - France’s leading pension advisory body is expected to recommend increasing the country’s pension contribution period in an effort to tackle its increasing pension deficit.
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Pension funds must step up engagement - Eumedion
NETHERLANDS - Institutional investors must increase their involvement as long-term shareholders by exercising their voting rights, according to the corporate governance platform for institutional investors Eumedion. They must also engage with companies.
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Imminent EC corporate governance code raises pension hackles
EUROPE – The European Commission is understood to be preparing a green paper on corporate governance in the wake of the financial crisis, but pension fund bodies are concerned that investors will be subject to onerous legislation.
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Audits and financial reporting key issues for investors
UK – Financial reporting by companies should meet the needs of owners, which means that the role of company audits and related disclosure to shareholders are key governance issues, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has claimed.
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MEPs press on with AIFM despite EU postponement
EUROPE – MEPs on the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee have continued discussions on a set of draft compromise amendments to the AIFM Directive despite the issue being postponed by the Spanish Presidency of the European Union earlier in the week.
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Swiss pension funds to name managers under tighter disclosure
SWITZERLAND – Pension funds will in future be required to name their asset managers and advisers in their annual reports, as part of a range of structural governance reforms of the mandatory Swiss second pillar pensions regime.
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EC seeks changes to Belgian and French tax rules
BELGIUM – The European Commission has begun the first stage of proceedings against the Belgian and French governments to try and reform their tax terms on pensions.
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IMF calls on Latvia and San Marino to do more on pensions
LATVIA SAN MARINO – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged both Latvia and San Marino to make further pension reforms to help tackle fiscal deficits, particularly as Latvia's attempt to reduce pensions last year was overruled in the constitutional court.
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Market upturn failed to increase DAX-related pensions' funding levels
GERMANY – The funding levels of pension schemes at Germany’s top stock market-listed companies have not improved despite last year’s market rally, consultancy firm Mercer has found.
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Dutch pensions sector recovery is still far off - DNB
NETHERLANDS - Pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has warned the Dutch pensions sector has a long way to go to a full recovery, despite no longer being seriously underfunded.
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EC pensions green paper to carry focus on transparency and knowledge
EUROPE – Transparency, member information, investment strategy and governance are all key elements that will fall under the spotlight of the European Commission’s consultation on a European pensions framework, according to Karel van Hulle, head of the insurance and pensions unit for the EC’s DG of internal market and services.
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EFRP survey: DC pension contributions need to rise
EUROPE – Approximately one in four workers in the European Union are now members of defined contribution pension schemes. But serious work is still needed to raise contributions as the distribution of assets is very different to the location of active members, a survey by the European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP) has found.
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NEST combination charge includes 2% for set-up
UK – The expected charging structure for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) will be a combined charge of a 0.3% annual management charge (AMC) and an admin contribution charge of 2% that may fall away once the set-up costs of the scheme have been recovered.
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NewsUK gov't studies DC charging levels
UK – Trust-based UK defined contribution (DC) schemes operate on an overall average cost of just over 2% based on contributions, or 1.23% if the charge is based on the size of the fund, according to a government report.
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NewsTPR appeals Nortel ruling over FSD 'misinterpretation'
UK/CANADA – The UK Pensions Regulator (TPR) has appealed rulings by the Canadian courts that declared the Financial Support Direction (FSD) process initiated against Nortel Corporation breaches the legal 'stay' of further financial claims on the company.
