Pensions Buzz

PP research reveals most readers think consultancy charging is inappropriate in all defined contribution (DC) schemes.

The majority of contributors said that having completed The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) trustee toolkit was not in itself a guarantee of a trustee's competence.

The vast majority of contributors said there was a role for assets like property and infrastructure in defined contribution (DC) strategies.

The majority of respondents to this week's Buzz want the ban on consultancy charging in auto-enrolment (AE) schemes to be extended to cover all defined contribution (DC) schemes.

This week respondents backed calls for The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to run a register of charges and for Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) to be merged, but said there is no role for paternalism in auto-enrolment (AE).

Just over half this week's respondents said a merger of the Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) was feasible, while one in eight said the proposal was impractical.

More than four out of five respondents said employers had no moral obligation to persuade staff to participate in a scheme once they had been auto-enrolled and had opted out.

The majority of contributors said trustees were generally using the flexibility in the system when setting assumptions for valuations.

Almost six out of 10 contributors backed Labour's call for a public register of scheme charges, run by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

Respondents tell us the industry will not simplify charges without being pushed by government, and that squeezing consultant fees is a "false economy".