Pensions Buzz

Just one in four respondents believe the pensions industry lobbies government effectively, while three out of five feel we could do better.

Buzz respondents are sceptical of the link between fees and performance from asset managers, by and large.

Pensions Buzz respondents have thrown their respective bulk behind calls for an extra layer of governance in contract-based schemes.

This week respondents reject the idea of a tariff system for the industry, support claims employers are pairing back investment to fund schemes and say administrators should not charge extra to spot fraud.

Just under half of respondents supported the idea of more schemes being allowed to run on after a sponsor enters insolvency. A quarter of contributors rejected the suggestion.

A significant proportion of contributors were concerned that schemes are over-exposed to interest rate risk, but one quarter said this was not a problem.

Three quarters of respondents thought third-party administrators (TPAs) should not be charging clients more for spotting ‘pensions liberation' scams.

The majority of respondents dismissed the suggestion that the government should impose a standardised charging structure on the industry. A third of contributors supported the idea, however.

This week, respondents demand that the industry cuts back excessive consultants' fees, but cannot decide whether fiduciary principles should extend throughout the investment chain.

More than half of respondents were not convinced either way on whether the Stewardship Code has had an impact.