Latest on Regulation & Reform – Page 388
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News
Teachers to take action over Irish levy
[7:10 CEt 09-03] IRELAND – Members of three teachers unions have voted in favour of industrial action, including strikes, over the government's handling of the economic crisis including the introduction of the "pension levy".
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News
E-based personal accounts need member education
[17:00 CET 09-03] UK – The pensions and investment industry has warned a 'self-service' e-approach to personal account members investment decisions risks "underestimating" the challenges involved in educating consumers.
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News
Crisis forces pensions measures back to gilts
[16:55 CET 09-03] UK – Hewitt Associates has conducted a study of 50 pension fund clients which suggests all will in future base their defined benefit funding assumptions on a gilts-based measure, even though it could increase liabilities by up to 30%.
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News
EC admits 'pensions are not immune to crisis'
[16:25 CET 09-03] EUROPE – European pension funds have not suffered during the ongoing economic crisis in the same way as other financial institutions, according to the European Commission, but defined benefit schemes in particular are likely to see “challenges” as they struggle to pull back their funding balances.
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News
Pensions ombudsman to highlight possible tax offences
[17:00 CET 06-03] IRELAND – The Pensions Ombudsman has stated information relating to possible tax offences uncovered through its own inquiries will be passed to the Irish Revenue Commissioners under a new memorandum of understanding.
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News
2012 contributions may be less than expected
[16:55 CET 06-03] UK – Watson Wyatt has warned workers auto-enrolled into occupational schemes after 2012 could have an “exaggerated impression” of the size of their pension as typical minimum contribution rates into qualifying pension schemes will never be more than 6.8% of gross earnings.
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News
Committee to screen schemes’ investment policy - Donner
[16:00 CET 06-03] NETHERLANDS - Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner will establish an independent committee to find out whether the investment policy of pension funds has landed them in their precarious financial position following the credit crisis.
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NewsUnion anger over Finnish retirement increase
[17:10 CET 05-03] FINLAND – The three trade union confederations in Finland are organising a national meeting of trustees, or shop stewards, next week against the government's plans to increase the retirement age without consultation.
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News
ECJ passes Heyday case back to UK High Court
[16:55 CET 05-03] EUROPE/UK – The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has argued it is "ultimately" for the UK High Court to decide whether the default retirement age of 65 breaches age discrimination legislation.
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NewsLetter will do instead of indexation label - AFM
[16:45 CET 05-03] NETHERLANDS - Pension funds will be allowed to inform their participants about the effects of the credit crisis on their pension in a letter, rather than through the prescribed label on indexation quality.
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News
Pension guarantee against law, says supervisor
[17:20 CET 04-03] AUSTRIA – The Austrian supervisor FMA has criticised ÖPAG Pensionskasse for offering guarantees in a recently-signed contract with the University of Vienna.
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News
Irish committee to examine NPRF ethical issues
[17:15 CET 04-03] IRELAND – The government has announced it is to establish an “interdepartmental committee” to examine the possibility of introducing ethical investment guidelines for the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF).
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NewsDonner to allow 'multi-fund' for smaller schemes
[15:30 CET 04-03] NETHERLANDS - Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner is planning to unveil legislation which will allow small company pension funds to work together as a multi-fund scheme but leave the individual scheme’s assets ring-fenced.
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News
PME mulls pensions cut in 2010
[16:00 CET 03-03] NETHERLANDS - PME, the €18.7bn industry-wide pension fund for the metal engineering industry, could be forced to reduce pension benefits next year if the extended five-year recovery period is not given further flexibility.
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News
SP access opened to stimulate Danish economy
[15:30 CET 03-03] DENMARK - All Danish employees will from 1 June until the end of the year be allowed to access their special pension (SP) savings, even though they may not be retiring any time soon.
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News
UK council pensions cost €5bn in 2007-08
[17:00 CET 02-03] UK – Local authorities in the UK spent a total of £4.5bn (€5bn) in employer contributions to council staff pensions in 2007-08, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has claimed.
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Features
Italian regulator urges mergers
The new head of Italy’s pensions regulator has made it clear that a consolidation of pension funds is necessary for the future of the industry.
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Opinion Pieces
A consultant union
A new investment consulting player was born this year, the result of the merger between Mercer and Callan. The combined Mercer-Callan entity employs around 375 people, controls about 20% of the US market and has offices in 14 cities.
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News
Royal Mail pension may become new public scheme
[16:45 CET 27-02] UK – The Postal Services Bill published this week by the UK government includes provisions for the secretary of state for business and enterprise (BERR) to establish a "new public scheme" into which members of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) could be transferred into.
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News
AFM to step up communications supervision
[16:45 CET 27-02] NETHERLANDS - The Authority Financial Markets (AFM) will step up its supervision of pension funds to ensure they properly apply the requirements of communicating to their participants.
