News

Lawyers have dismissed The Pensions Regulator's warning to investors that it will take action against firms triggering pre-pack insolvencies to offload pension liabilities from businesses.

The European Commission has bowed to UK pension industry demands for a longer consultation period on Solvency II requirements and extended the deadline by five weeks.

A "pounds and pence" approach to defined contribution charging would lead to lower-paid members paying more, industry figures say.

CANADA - The nascent Canadian longevity risk transfer market could hit $20bn by 2020, Swiss Re finds.

GERMANY - Germany's institutional investors are not only interested in returns, but also the safety of those returns, according to a study published by Union Investment.

US - Telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon Communications could face increased pension payments next year as their liabilities soar to a combined $73.2bn, according to an analyst note from Bernstein Research, a unit of AllianceBernstein.

UK/Europe - The European Commission plans to adopt a "holistic balance sheet" approach to scheme funding rules which will treat sponsor covenants as assets, a consultation reveals.

CANADA/US - Teachers' Private Capital, a unit of the C$107.5bn ($106.4bn) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and the $37.3bn Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois have made equity investments to finance company NXT Capital.

Unions challenging the government's switch of inflation measures for up-rating public sector pensions in the High Court are arguing the move contravenes the Human Rights Acts.

Employers are failing to fully hedge their liabilities after a study revealed half of the FTSE350 still had a proportion of their market capitalisation valuation un-hedged.