Pensions Buzz

A quarter of respondents thought the Department of Work and Pensions proposals to allow defined benefit schemes to self-certify for auto-enrolment would be unworkable, while a third disagreed.

Most respondents were unsure of the relative merits of using cap-weighted indices to measure fund managers' performance.

Respondents were not really persuaded that there was a lack of capacity in the market for advisers on fiduciary management.

The majority of respondents were not convinced by research from the National Association of Pension Funds that suggested young people were thinking more about saving for retirement.

Buzz respondents do not believe trustees should be racing to act on guaranteed minimum pension equalisation, given the latest delay in implementation.

Respondents were not certain whether the Pension Protection Fund's expectations were affecting administration standards, or whether this was such a bad thing anyway.

Buzz respondents were split down the middle as to whether accounting and other regulations were acting as a disincentive for schemes to act as long-term investors.

There was plenty of scepticism about the prospects of an investor forum driving up returns, a decent amount of indifference, and an extremely small amount of optimism.

Pensions Buzz is a weekly survey of the industry. This week respondents share concerns about The Pensions Regulator's plans for trust-based DC and discuss the long-term aims of DB schemes.

Many buzz respondents were concerned that The Pensions Regulator's proposed approach to regulating trust-based defined contribution schemes could overload trustees.