Always a Pensions Angle

By DG PublishingBusiness News Investing

Always a Pensions Angle episodes

May 20, 2020 The end of ‘amateurish’ trusteeship
The challenges posed by Covid-19 will accelerate the move towards professional trusteeship, according to Mercer’s chief actuary Charles Cowling, who argues that the responsibilities in this area post-coronavirus will be too much for lay trustees to handle alone. He and Catherine McFadyen, head of public sector actuarial, benefits and governance at Hymans Robertson, discuss LGPS funding, the impact of mortality rates, and give their predictions about the post-crisis world.
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19 min
May 06, 2020 McClymont: Too many master trusts in UK
The UK master trust market is still lacking the scale needed to provide the best outcomes for members, argues Gregg McClymont, director of policy at The People’s Pension. He and Pat Sharman, managing director at Caceis, discuss concerns from the Pensions Regulator regarding the investment strategies pursued by some of the UK’s authorised master trusts, among other topics.
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18 min
April 23, 2020 Vigilance urged over relaxed rules
Trustees should not take advantage of easements introduced by the Pensions Regulator, which has relaxed its enforcement rules and reporting guidelines, warns John Reeve, director at Cosan Consulting. He and Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, discuss the recent changes to the pensions industry brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside other issues.
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17 min
April 08, 2020 Is 3-month DB holiday enough?
Measures introduced by the Pensions Regulator – which allow employers to freeze their defined benefit obligations for three months in response to the economic fallout from coronavirus – might need to be reviewed, warned Emma Watkins, annuities director at Scottish Widows. However, she says the plan gives “breathing space to the most stressed pension schemes”, an opinion shared by Simon Kew, covenant adviser and former manager at the regulator.
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16 min
March 05, 2020 Webb: Budget must deliver for doctors
Former pensions minister Steve Webb argued that “it would be astonishing” if the March 11 Budget does not bring a solution to the issues caused by the tapered annual allowance for doctors and senior clinicians. Sir Steve, now partner at Lane Clark & Peacock, and Lydia Fearn, head of defined contribution and financial well-being at Redington, discuss, among other topics, the possible changes for pensions to be introduced by the chancellor.
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16 min
February 19, 2020 Regulator should take ‘softly-softly’ approach to DC consolidation
The Pensions Regulator should take a “softly-softly” approach to defined contribution consolidation, similar to what happened with master trusts during the authorisation process, where subtle conversations occurred and schemes decided to exit in an orderly manner, according to Adrian Boulding, director of policy at Now Pensions. He and Rosalind Connor, partner at Arc Pensions Law, discuss the response from the watchdog to its consultation of the future of trusteeship and governance, among other topics.
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18 min
February 06, 2020 Govt and regulators urged to review chair statements
Government and regulators should rethink pension schemes’ chair statements, as they have become a regulatory compliance tool for the pensions industry, according to Darren Philp, director of policy and communications at Smart Pension, and Judith Fish, professional trustee at Dalriada Trustees. In this week’s podcast, the experts discuss, among other subjects, the recent fine received by the Financial Conduct Authority from the Pensions Regulator due to pension failures.
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22 min
January 21, 2020 Vegan case flags importance of heeding members
Trustees and employers should consult members on their beliefs, and incorporate the investment views of the majority in their pension default fund, according to Romi Savova, chief executive at PensionBee, and David Brooks, technical director at Broadstone. The experts discuss the impacts of a landmark ruling finding that veganism is a philosophical belief, alongside other topics, in this week’s podcast.
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21 min
August 22, 2019 What falling sterling means for pension funds
It has been a rocky few months for sterling, with the currency falling more than 7 per cent since May. In this podcast, Shoqat Bunglawala, head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s global portfolio solutions business, and Simeon Willis, chief investment officer at XPS Pensions, discuss the main reasons behind the decline, and what it means for pension funds.
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11 min
August 15, 2019 Tackling the 'long tail' of underperforming smaller schemes
The Pensions Regulator’s latest defined contribution survey revealed that only 4 per cent of micro schemes and 1 per cent of small schemes are meeting all of the watchdog’s governance standards. David Fairs, TPR's executive director for regulatory policy, analysis and advice, has previously described the "long tail" of underperforming smaller schemes as "unacceptable". In this podcast, Mr Fairs talks to Pensions Expert about what the survey's findings mean, and how the DC landscape might change.

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4 min