Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 375
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Czechs given open pensions choice
CZECH REPUBLIC – Employees in the Czech Republic are being given more free choice over their pension provider in the latest reforms, but switching pension funds will be no longer free for all.
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TPR to use direct marketing for employer compliance
[15:30 CEST 06-08] UK – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has signalled its intention to use direct marketing services as an initial step to inform employers and their advisers of their duties, under the new auto-enrolment requirements beginning in 2012.
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Pensions risk could lead to use of 'EBITDAP' - LCP
[16:50 CEST 05-08] UK – Pensions consultancy firm Lane, Clark & Peacock has predicted companies might in future adapt their accounting reports to carry financial results which list pensions activity as an extension of their ‘EBITDA’ calculations.
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NewsBalsfjord joins Norwegian pension tenders
[13:30 CEST 05-08] NORWAY – Balsfjord kommune, in the north of Norway, is the latest municipality to re-tender its public occupational pension provision.
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EU committee seeks expert panel on finance
[16:20 CEST 04-08] EUROPE – The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee is tendering for providers to join a "panel of experts" to provide advice on financial services issues.
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ACA calls for interim changes to PCPF
[16:10 CEST 04-08] UK – The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has warned against any "significant revisions" to the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) until there is a wider review of UK public sector pensions.
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NewsAIFM could cost pension funds €25bn a year
[15:30 CEST 04-08] GLOBAL – The Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive could cost European pension funds €25bn a year through charges and lower investment returns if is implemented in its current form, the Alternative Investment Management Association has claimed.
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NewsInvestors slam Myners' two-tier shareholder plan
[16:45 CEST 03-08] UK – Investors and bodies representing pension funds have criticised a proposal by UK City minister Lord Myners to boost investor engagement by creating a ‘two-tier’ shareholder regime.
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More Greek reforms needed to alter 'generous' pensions - OECD
GREECE – The Greek government needs to consider yet more reforms to its pensions regime, including a major overall of actuarial calculations used as current projections suggest its public pension payments will account for 24% of GDP in 40 years’ time, suggested a report produced by The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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NewsUK could face 'inconsistent' legal actions
[13:00 CEST 03-08] UK – Development of a route for tackling shareholder actions has taken an unexpected route in the UK which lawyers claim could be more complicated than a US-style legal-based civil action framework and is likely to create inconsistencies among cases.
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NewsPressure grows for abolition of default retirement age
[16:15 CEST 31-07] UK – A cross-party group of MPs has reiterated its call for the default retirement age of 65 to be abolished, as it believes the practice is "discriminative and unnecessary".
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NewsIASB trips up in corridor
[16:15 CEST 31-07] GLOBAL - A bid by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to relax the requirements of IAS19 in respect of discount rate determination has run into the sand as staff and board have failed on three occasions to finalise transitional arrangements.
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Highland schemes seeks advice for tax recovery
[17:10 CEST 29-07] UK - The Highland Council is seeking a provider of tax advisory service to help its £627.8m (€730.9m) local government pension scheme (LGPS) claim back withholding taxes on dividends from EU and EEA sources.
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Benefits of default retirement age are 'exaggerated'
[17:00 CEST 29-07] UK – The advantages of a mandatory retirement age of 65, implemented under employment equality regulations in 2006, "have been exaggerated", claims research conducted for the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) and The Age and Employment Network (TAEN).
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Pension funds rally against need to report cooperation
NETHERLANDS – Representatives of the Dutch pension funds arena have lodged an appeal with the competition regulator NMa against a duty to report any cooperation of activity between pension funds.
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AIFM could bring less fund choice, claims law firm
[17:00 CEST 24-07] EUROPE – A Paris-headquartered law firm has warned current proposals for the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive could lead to a lack of choice of funds in the future unless European officials can work with US and international counterparts to improve regulatory terms on alternative investments.
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TPR 'willing to enforce' DC improvements
[16:50 CEST 23-07] UK – The Pensions Regulator has signalled its intention to take a tougher stance on defined contribution (DC) pensions governance, with a particular focus on retirement options and processes and employer engagement.
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DC trustees forced to focus on admin
[16:45 CEST 22-07] UK – The majority of defined contribution (DC) fiduciaries, such as trustee boards or monitoring committees, claim they are forced to focus on the administrative side of scheme governance rather than qualitative activities such as investment strategy, according to a study conducted by Watson Wyatt.
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UK pension complaints keep stable in 2008/09 despite ‘turmoil’
[16:45 CEST 21-07] UK – The number of complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman remained steady in 2008/09 at 742, despite receiving the highest level of enquiries for four years.
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Discipline board investigates actuaries about First Quench fund
[17:15 CEST 20-07] UK – The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB) has initiated an investigation into the conduct of actuaries in relation to the substitution of the sponsoring employer of the First Quench Pension Fund.
