May 2022

UK. Pasa sets out good practice for DB transfers

The Pensions Administration Standards Association has published good practice guidance for those dealing with defined benefit transfers. At its annual conference in London yesterday (May 3), Pasa explained that the time taken to process DB transfers varies hugely, and sometimes, unexplained delays damage the relationship members have with their scheme, and pensions in general, which can lead to a breakdown of trust. Some transfers can often take months to execute, while others are processed within a month but administration delays can...

UK. DB schemes with DC AVCs will need to comply with ‘stronger nudge’ regs

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes with a defined contribution (DC) additional voluntary contribution (AVC) facility will need to comply with the government’s ‘stronger nudge’ regulations that are coming into force from 1 June. LCP noted that as the new rules apply at the benefit level rather than at scheme level, occupational schemes that are mainly DB but have DC AVCs will also be impacted. The stronger nudge to pension guidance will require pension schemes to offer to book a Pension Wise...

March 2022

Global Pension Risk Survey 2021/22. UK survey findings. The DB pension risk management journey

By AON We have been carrying out the Global Pension Risk Survey every two years for over a decade and it gives the industry great insight into how the pensions landscape has developed. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, it created many challenges for sponsors, pension schemes and their members. We saw sponsors and trustees reassessing the risks that they faced. While the impact was not negative for all pension schemes, there was a large market crash which had a...

February 2022

US. Investment Opportunities for DB Plans Moving Forward

As corporate defined benefit  (DB) plans consider market volatility, interest rate movements and cash flow needs, there are certain investments and strategies that investment managers suggest they consider. Adam Levine, investment director of abrdn’s Client Solutions Group in New York City, says funded ratios for corporate DB plans improved quite a bit in 2021 both because of returns and discount rate movements, so more plans are moving into fixed income to protect their funded statuses. Closed or frozen plans, especially,...

January 2022

UK. FTSE 350 DB pension deficit falls by £28bn; ‘looming risks’ ahead

The aggregate accounting deficit of FTSE 350 companies’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes fell by £28bn during December, ending the year at £76bn, according to Mercer's latest Pensions Risk Survey. It revealed that liability values fell from from £962bn to £913bn during the month, although asset values also declined, from £858bn to £837bn. However, whilst the deficit had fallen compared to November, it had increased year-on-year, with an aggregate deficit of £70bn recorded at the end of 2020 and of £41bn...

The Future of Multi-Pillar Pensions

By Lans Bovenberg, Casper van Ewijk & Ed Westerhout Pension systems are under serious pressure worldwide. This pressure stems not only from the well-known trend of population aging, but also from those of increasing heterogeneity of the population and increasing labour mobility. The current economic crisis has aggravated these problems, thereby exposing the vulnerability of many pension schemes to macroeconomic shocks. This book reconsiders the multi-pillar pension scheme against the background of these pressures. It adopts an integral perspective and...

September 2021

US. Many Teacher Pension Plans Get Failing Grade: New Report

Roughly three-quarters of states offer teachers a retirement plan that isn’t making the grade, according to a ranking released Tuesday. Just 13 states received either a B or a C grade overall in Bellwether Education Partner’s latest look at teacher retirement plans. None received an A. South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Utah and New York scored closest, topping the nonprofit organization’s new ranking. Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Kentucky New Jersey and Illinois rounded out the bottom five states. Most teachers are enrolled in a defined-benefit...

August 2021

Intergenerational inequality and pension systems

By CAndreas Charalambous and Omiros Pissarides he issue of income inequality lies at the heart of political discussions, both at EU and worldwide levels. Inequality manifests itself in different forms – inequality within a country, inequality between countries and intergenerational inequality. Today’s article deals with the issue of intergenerational inequality, aiming at safeguarding a satisfactory quality of life for future generations, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable citizens. The main policy instrument for this purpose is the adaptation of pension systems. Modern...

June 2021

UK. Third of high risk DB transfers would pass new scam test

One in three defined benefit transfers flagged as high risk would be allowed under new government proposals designed to reduce scams, a consultancy has warned. XPS looked at data from its Scam Protection Service and found that of all the transfers flagged by the service since July 2018, one in three would have satisfied the ‘first condition’ of the Department for Work and Pensions’ proposed legislation. The government is planning to give trustees the power to halt suspicious transfers and has...

February 2021

Global Pension Assets Study – 2021

By Willis Tower Watson The Global Pension Assets Study covers 22 major pension markets (the P22), which now totals US$52,522 billion in pension assets and account for 80% of the GDP of these economies. The study includes an analysis of the seven largest markets (the P7) which includes Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and US and comprises 92% of total pension assets. Get the book here