Jonathan Stapleton
Follow Jonathan Stapleton
Articles by Jonathan Stapleton
Hymans Robertson's John Dickson: Sticking to our principles
Professional Pensions spoke to Hymans Robertson senior partner John Dickson as part of an exclusive series of interviews with the leaders of some of the UK’s leading pension consulting firms. This is what he had to say…
Capita's Stuart Heatley: 'Clever complexity' will no longer be tolerated
Professional Pensions spoke to Capita Pensions Consulting managing director Stuart Heatley as part of an exclusive series of interviews with the leaders of some of the UK’s leading pension consulting firms. This is what he had to say…
PLSA: 'No plans to return to live events as we knew them until at least 2022'
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) says it isn’t planning to return to live events ‘as we knew them’ until at least 2022.
Buck's David Piltz: Fostering a spirit of flexibility, fairness, and simplicity
Professional Pensions spoke to Buck's UK managing director David Piltz as part of an exclusive series of interviews with the leaders of some of the UK’s leading pension consulting firms. This is what he had to say…
Barnett Waddingham's Andrew Vaughan: It is inevitable the way we work will change
Professional Pensions spoke to Barnett Waddingham senior partner Andrew Vaughan as part of an exclusive series of interviews with the leaders of some of the UK’s leading pension consulting firms. This is what he had to say…
Aon's Michael Clare: Moving towards a new better
Professional Pensions spoke to Aon EMEA head of retirement & investment Michael Clare as part of an exclusive series of interviews with the leaders of some of the UK’s leading pension consulting firms. This is what he had to say…
Revealed: The top third-party administrators and software providers
The Professional Pensions Administration Survey 2020 reveals the rankings of the best third-party administrators and software providers for pension schemes.
Comic relief founder launches campaign to shift £3trn of pension assets into sustainable investments
Film producer Richard Curtis - also co-founder of Comic Relief - has launched a campaign to help make the UK’s £3trn of pension assets more sustainable and ensure it is invested in building a better world after the coronavirus pandemic.
Willis Pension Scheme enters into £1bn longevity hedge
The Willis Pension Scheme has entered into a longevity swap transaction with Munich Re to manage longevity risk in relation to around £1bn of pensioner liabilities.
The Pension Superfund completes HMRC registration in step towards first deal
The Pension Superfund (PSF) has moved a step closer to completing its first deal with the official registration of the superfund as an occupational pension scheme by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Schemes and insurers pile £2.7bn into Macquarie infrastructure debt fund
A range of predominantly UK corporate pension schemes, local authority funds and insurance companies have committed £2.7bn to the latest fundraising round for Macquarie infrastructure debt strategy, Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions (MIDIS)....
Updated: DWP launches review into default fund charge cap and standardised cost disclosure
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a review to assess the effectiveness of costs, charges and transparency measures in protecting pension member outcomes.
Big three pension consultants post combined revenues of £1.14bn in 2019
The revenue of the three biggest pension consultancy firms in the UK fell slightly in 2019, dropping from £1.16bn in 2018 to £1.14bn in 2019.
PIC calls for creation of compulsory not-for-profit consolidator to take on smaller underfunded schemes
Pension Insurance Corporation has reiterated its call for the establishment of a new consolidation vehicle, run by a not-for-profit agency, to target smaller underfunded schemes with weak sponsors.
ABI calls for overhaul of pensions tax relief; Industry says change will be 'far from easy'
The UK’s system of pensions tax relief needs to be overhauled to make it fairer to the lower paid and younger savers, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says.
Updated: WPC issues 'unscrupulous employer' warning to TPR
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) must be “alert” to the risk of unscrupulous employers taking advantage of Covid-19 flexibilities, the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) says.
Maps begins market engagement project with pensions dashboard suppliers
The Money and Pensions Service (Maps) has started a six-week period of informal market engagement with potential suppliers of the digital architecture for the pensions dashboards.
Floodgates open for DC scheme shift to master trusts as asset commitments top £4bn during lockdown
There will be a “surge” of employers moving defined contribution (DC) occupational trust pension schemes to master trusts as lockdown eases and employees return to work post-furlough, Hymans Robertson says.
Think-tank calls for DB consolidation to up investment in illiquids
Urgent pension reforms should be undertaken to give the UK fewer and larger pension funds with the scale required to make major infrastructure investments, a think-tank says.
PLSA urges government to amend Insolvency Bill to avoid 'serious consequences' for schemes
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has written to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to express its concerns over the potential impact of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill on schemes.
Struggling charities facing extra financial strain from pension deficits
Increased pension deficits are putting additional strain on many charities already financially struggling in the midst of Covid-19, latest research by Hymans Robertson finds.
Is the pensions industry doing enough on ethnic diversity?
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the end of last month has prompted a huge wave of protest and soul-searching across the world.
List: The biggest professional trustee firms in the UK
Professional Pensions is compiling a list of professional trustee firms and is looking for your help...
Barnett Waddingham announces nine new promotions to partner
Barnett Waddingham has promoted nine to partner level in response to growing client demand and to maintain market-leading service delivery for clients.
PLSA publishes template for DC chair's statements
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published a drafting template to help defined contribution (DC) scheme trustees produce their annual chair’s statements.
British Bankers' Association scheme completes £95m full buy-in deal with Aviva
The British Bankers’ Association Pension Scheme (BBA) has completed a £95m bulk purchase annuity transaction with Aviva.
TPR's David Fairs bids to run 520k in aid of Sarcoma UK
David Fairs is making a bid to complete 52 10k cross training sessions in a bid to raise £10,000 for Sarcoma UK.
Seven pension bodies team up to reassure savers over Covid-19 concerns
Seven bodies with responsibility for protecting UK pension savers’ pots have joined forces to create an information guide to reassure scheme members amid concern about the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on financial wellbeing in the UK.
Natixis makes strategic equity investment in Smart
Natixis Investment Managers has made a strategic investment in Smart, the technology platform behind the Smart Pension master trust.
XPS reveals best and worst performing fiduciary managers in Q1
The fiduciary managers that made the strongest gains through high equity allocations in 2019 also sustained the biggest losses during the first quarter of 2020, research by XPS Pensions reveals.
Exclusive: APPT announces its first 14 accredited trustees
The Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) has announced the first 14 trustees to have received accreditation after completing its programme.
NN Life completes €13.5bn longevity deal
NN Life has completed a €13.5bn (£12.1bn) longevity transaction covering a portfolio of annuity policies for over 200,000 pensioners and dependents.
TPR issues warning over DC allocations to alternative funds
Trustees of defined contribution (DC) schemes redirecting contributions made during Covid-19 to alternative funds should check they’re not unintentionally breaching pension legislation, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) warns.
IFS: Has AE been too successful?
Thousands of the country’s most financially insecure individuals are remaining in auto-enrolled schemes even if it may not be in their best interests to do so, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) finds.
EXCLUSIVE: PP poll reveals industry fears over post-crisis return to BAU
Two-thirds of the industry don’t expect to return to non-home offices until at least September and 55% don’t expect a return to face-to-face business as usual for at least a year, exclusive PP research reveals.
Volatility driving bulk annuity pricing spread but deal ready schemes urged to stay 'in market'
Volatile market conditions have led to a much wider range of pricing for pension scheme buy-ins and buyouts than has been seen for a decade, Aon says.
Tyne & Wear and Northumberland schemes to merge
The £9bn Tyne & Wear Pension Fund and the £1.4bn Northumberland County Council Pension Fund are set to merge following a consultation by the government.
PensionBee: Savers contributing more and withdrawing less during lockdown
Savers are contributing more to their pension and withdrawing less during the current lockdown, latest analysis from PensionBee finds.
Isio: One in five sponsors may end up suspending DRCs
Just over 10% of sponsors have requested the suspension of deficit reduction payments – a number that is likely to rise around 19% over the coming months.
XPS reveals best and worst performing fiduciary managers in 2019
There was a 12 percentage point difference in the growth portfolio performance of the best and worst performing fiduciary managers in 2019 and over a third underperformed the average diversified growth fund, research from XPS Pensions Group reveals.
Michelle Cracknell wins PMI student essay competition
Michelle Cracknell has won the Pensions Management Institute’s third student essay competition with an article on how data can be used to better segment and target member communications to improve engagement.
Covid-19: Your industry guide
The Pensions Management Institute has produced an industry guide to Covid-19.
Punter Southall Aspire quits master trust market; Forms strategic partnership with Evolve
Punter Southall Aspire has announced it is withdrawing from the master trust market.
Premier appoints Alastair Aird as chief executive
Premier has appointed Alastair Aird as its chief executive to lead the firm’s plans for strategic growth.
Michael Clark: Becoming an accredited trustee
Jonathan Stapleton speaks to CBC Pension Services director Michael Clark about becoming the first fully-accredited professional trustee in the UK.
Reaction: Annual funding statement retains pressure on trustees to secure cash
The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) annual funding statement aims to keep up pressure on schemes but tries to avoid putting undue strain on employers at a time of crisis, the industry says.
TPR publishes 2020 annual funding statement
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its 2020 annual funding statement outlining how defined benefit schemes should approach forthcoming scheme valuations.
National Pension Trust tops DC default fund performance league tables for 2019
The National Pension Trust’s global equity fund has been named as the best performing growth phase default fund over one and three years in a research report published by Defaqto.