Pensions Buzz

Almost four out of 10 contributors said fiduciary management was an effective way for smaller schemes to access some benefits of scale.

Almost half this week's respondents backed calls for mandatory qualifications for professional trustees.

More than half this week's contributors rejected the notion of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) taking on the schemes of solvent employers.

This week respondents support the idea of qualifications for professional trustees, back calls to let members use funds for long-term care, and say actuaries will always find a role in pensions.

Contributors supported by a margin of two to one the idea of ring-fencing money raised through the Royal Mail sell off to fund the pension deficit taken on by the government.

The majority of contributors believe there will continue to be a role for actuaries in the pensions industry, even as defined benefit (DB) provision is phased out.

There was strong support for the idea of letting scheme members use some of their pension pot to pay for the cost of long-term care in retirement.

This week Buzz reveals growing confidence in auto-enrolment (AE) but in the minds of respondents there is still a long way to go.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of respondents focused on low opt-out rates as the short-term measure of success for AE, and decent retirement incomes as the long-term goal. On this basis, many contributors said the first year of AE could be deemed a success.

It was a similar story on how the industry thinks The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will fare when the number of employers staging really takes off next year. The percentage of contributors who think the watchdog will be unable to cope fell from 55% 12 months...