Mike Smedley

Chancellor Rishi Sunak ruffles feathers by leaving glaring pensions issues on the sideline

Draft regulations will add to, amend and remove elements of the regime with greater definition

Trustees have been warned to keep an eye on weakening employer covenants even after a positive aggregate funding experience in the last three years as myriad funding and investment issues pose risks to defined benefit (DB) schemes.

Professional trustee firms are beginning to dominate the pensions landscape with the top 12 firms alone now appointed to 1,900 schemes with around £800bn of assets and posting business growth of 14% per annum, a report from Isio finds.

The long-debated Pension Schemes Bill has received parliamentary approval, guaranteeing its place on the statute book.

Oversimplification must be avoided in The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) proposed revision of the defined benefit (DB) scheme funding code, and a third way might be necessary, the industry has said.

Superfunds could be on course to complete multi-billion-pound transfers of defined benefit (DB) funds by the end of this year, Isio says.

Consultants, trade bodies, and professional societies across the pensions industry have responded relatively positively to guidance from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that has today signalled a clear start for defined benefit (DB) scheme consolidation...

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.

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.