All IPE articles in May 2009 (Online) – Page 6
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NewsIAA deficit almost trebles in 2008
[17:25 CEST 11-05] IRELAND – The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has admitted its pension deficit is the "most significant challenge" to its finances in 2009, as its pension shortfall has almost trebled to €146.6m in 2008.
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NewsShropshire reduces UK equities for new global mandate
[17:20 CEST 11-05] UK – Shropshire County Council is seeking one or more managers to run a new global equity portfolio for the £740m (€824m) Shropshire Pension Fund.
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NewsAbsolute return may be future for default funds
[17:20 CEST 11-05] UK - Recent volatility in pension default fund investments has suggested there is a need to shift away from lifestyling towards alternatives such as absolute return funds, according to Punter Southall Financial Management.
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NewsPADA rebuts personal accounts 'failure'
[17:10 CEST 11-05] UK - The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has hit back as claims that the new pension regime for personal accounts will not work and research which suggested just two in 100 employers will use the scheme.
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NewsFTSE pensions made conservative shift to bonds
[16:45 CEST 11-05] EUROPE – FTSE 100-listed companies have sought to reduce their pension liability risk within the last year by re-weighting assets by an average 7% to bonds, suggests a study published by Pension Capital Strategies.
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NewsPension reforms to lessen gov’t spending, initially
[15:30 CEST 11-05] EUROPE – Just as many governments are now trying to rectify potential future shortfalls in retirement income, the European Commission has found the anticipated higher costs on domestic budgets will be at their lowest among some countries over the next decade before rising again in later years.
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NewsBankpension posts net loss of 19.7%
[17:25 CEST 08-05] DENMARK – Bankpension, the pension fund for employees in the Danish financial sector, has reported an “extremely unsatisfactory” result of -23.1% before tax in 2008.
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NewsSwiss home bias pays off long-term
[17:20 CEST 08-05] SWITZERLAND – Only Swiss bonds and Swiss real estate contributed positively to the performance of local pension funds last year but Swiss assets are a major contributor to long-term performance, a study by Lusenti has found.
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NewsGov't publishes trivial commutation rules
[17:10 CEST 08-05] UK – The government has today published regulations allowing pension scheme members to commute occupational pension funds of less than £2,000 (€2,233), even if they have larger pension savings elsewhere.
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NewsHighland pension unable to exclude tobacco
[17:05 CEST 08-05] UK – The Highland Council has been warned that attempts to exclude investments from the £801.7m (€897.8m) pension scheme on ethical grounds would be unlawful and could lead to the council being forced to make up any shortfall to the scheme.
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NewsPersonal accounts to 'soft launch' in 2011
[17:00 CEST 08-05] UK – Personal accounts will begin its roll out in the second quarter of 2011 to a small number of volunteers, according to the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA).
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NewsSwaps should be favoured over gilts – F&C
[16:55 CEST 08-05] UK – Pensions funds are being warned to tread carefully at present when deciding whether to hedge their liabilities against UK gilts, as the huge level of government borrowing is likely to mean yields will need to rise in the short-term to attract borrowers.
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NewsCover ratios pull up to 100%
[16:30 CEST 08-05] NETHERLANDS - The cover ratio of the Netherlands’ 650 pension funds seems to be stabilising at approximately 100% on average, consultancy firm Hewitt Associates has claimed.
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NewsStudy: big not always beautiful for pensions
[16:15 CEST 08-05] NETHERLANDS - It is generally accepted that small pension funds perform less well than their bigger brothers, but economies of scale can also work the other way around, suggests a new study conducted in the Netherlands.
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NewsRomania to look at pension reserve fund and life-cycling (updated)
ROMANIA – Pension fund companies in Romania will soon have to pay into a general reserve fund and they are likely to introduce the life-cycle model in their funds from 2010, according to the pensions regulator.
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NewsMPs say 'abolish' default retirement age
[17:10 CEST 07-05] UK – Members of Parliament (MPs) serving on the Work and Pensions Committee have recommended regulation allowing a statutory default retirement age of 65 be abolished - a move which contradicts the government's recent defence in a legal action brought by ageing population charities.
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NewsPADA initiates discussion on investment
[17:05 CEST 07-05] UK - The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has issued a discussion paper to help inform its trustee corporation of its thoughts on investment strategy, and which includes thinking on corporate governance and responsible investing.
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NewsBudget forces rethink on pension plans
[17:00 CEST 07-05] UK – Planned reductions in higher rate tax relief on pension contributions have caused nearly 60% those in charge of pension schemes to rethink existing pension projects, according to Hewitt Associates.
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NewsFRR suffers further 6.5% loss
[16:55 CEST 07-05] FRANCE – FRR, the French national pension fund, saw its value fall by another 6.5% in the first three months of this year, leaving the body with the legacy of a negative return against the five-year period it has been operating.
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NewsUS pension funds selected to lead RBS action
[16:40 CEST 07-05] GLOBAL – Two major US pension funds have been appointed as lead plaintiffs in a class action against UK-headquartered banking group RBS, ahead of European pension funds who had also hoped to pursue the firm for alleged false disclosure of its true financial status.
