Always a Pensions Angle

Last month, the government published a consultation on the consolidation of defined benefit pension schemes. What is the outlook for DB superfunds? And what should trustees consider if they are thinking about switching from a sponsor covenant to a consolidator covenant? In this episode, Alex Hutton-Mills, managing director at Lincoln Pensions, and Paul McGlone, president of the Society of Pension Professionals, discuss the consultation and whether early adopter nerves are holding back inflows to the new DB consolidators.

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Earlier this month, the Department for Work and Pensions published its long-awaited feasibility report and consultation on how the industry can create online pensions dashboards. What does the industry make of the study? And how much progress is needed to make the project a success? In this episode, Girish Menezes, board director at the Pensions Administration Standards Association, and Anthony Rafferty, managing director of fintech company Origo, discuss compulsion, dashboard governance and data.

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Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that Barnardo’s cannot change the inflation protection it provides to members of its defined benefit scheme from the retail price index to the consumer price index. So, what does the result mean for other DB pension funds and their sponsors? Matthew de Ferrars, pensions partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, and Faye Jarvis, pensions partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, discuss what trustees can learn from the recent Barnardo's outcome.

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Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has delivered his Autumn Budget. To mull over patient capital and what might have been, Alex Janiaud is joined by James Riley, council member at the Society of Pension Professionals, and Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon.

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The popularity of liability-driven investment strategies among defined benefit pension funds has increased over the years. In 2017, the total notional value of liabilities hedged by LDI strategies continued to grow, rising to £965bn from £904bn, according to XPS Pensions research. In this episode, Nick Harvey, principal at XPS Pensions, discusses how scheme exposure to LDI has changed over time, and what the future holds for this type of investment strategy.

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Last month, Pensions Expert reported that trustees of the Lloyds Bank Pension Scheme No.1 had overhauled the default offering for their DC members. In this episode, Lydia Fearn, head of DC and financial well-being at consultancy Redington, and Maria Nazarova-Doyle, senior investment consultant and head of DC investment consulting at JLT Employee Benefits, discuss the most important factors for trustees to consider when designing or reviewing their default investment strategy.

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Over the past few years, headlines highlighting several high-profile defined benefit pension cases have hammered home the importance of having a strong covenant. Mark Evans, director at Independent Trustee Services, and Adolfo Aponte, director at covenant specialists Lincoln Pensions, explain how trustees can keep tabs on their employer.

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An advisory group to the government review of the Financial Reporting Council is considering the role of actuaries and the extent to which actuaries should be subject to formal regulation in response to the pensions-related nature of recent corporate failures. Bob Scott, senior partner at actuarial consultancy LCP and immediate past chair of the Association of Consulting Actuaries, discusses the potential impacts of tighter regulation of the profession, and what it could mean for pension funds.

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Eighty per cent of people are not sure whether they are saving the right amount for retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. What can be done to help savers achieve a better income in retirement? In this episode, James Walsh, the PLSA’s policy lead on engagement, EU and regulation, discusses auto-enrolment minimum contribution increases, the self-employed, and confusion about pensions.

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Since the introduction of freedom and choice in 2015, more and more savers have showed an interest in defined benefit transfers. In this episode, Ben Roe, senior partner and head of member options at Aon, and Gary Evans, board director at the Pensions and Administration Standards Association and chair of Pasa's Transfers Working Group, discuss the responsibilities of trustees and employers when it comes to DB transfers, and how they can support members in making the right decisions. 

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