Defined Benefit

A sharp decrease in mortality rates in the first half of the year has highlighted the dangers of assuming that longevity improvements will plateau, says Hymans Robertson.

FTSE350 firms' contributions to their defined benefit (DB) pension deficits are at the lowest level in five years, according to research by Barnett Waddingham.

TUI Travel has embedded a Pension Increase Exchange (PIE) offer into its retirement processes, in a move which has cut its liabilities by up to £32m.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has completed the transfer of assets held by the UK Coal pension scheme after the company collapsed following a failed restructuring.

Aviva will do more mid-sized bulk annuity deals with companies over the remainder of the year after more than doubling its bulk business.

A shift towards collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes is "unlikely" as the trend towards defined contribution (DC) plans continues, LCP says.

An increasing number of FTSE100 firms are seeking alternatives to straight cash funding, with 38 FTSE100 companies disclosing some form of security arrangements in their 2013 accounts, LCP research finds.

If all the FTSE100 companies still using the RPI inflation measure in their pension schemes were to move to using RPIJ, the combined pension deficit could fall by up to £20bn, LCP says.

The funding level of FTSE350 pension schemes tumbled to a four-year low of 83% after deficits grew by £4bn last month.

BBA Aviation has introduced an asset-backed funding scheme to replace deficit contributions to its UK defined benefit (DB) scheme, following the firm's sale of a subsidiary.