News

Pension Protection Fund levy increases have been over-cautious and are an attempt to build a "buffer fund", delegates were told.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is urging employers to take more control of scheme funding agreements to avoid being caught out by trustee demands and missing regulatory deadlines.

UK - Personal Accounts may not increase pension saving to the extent the government hopes as employers opt out of current schemes in response to the reforms, according to a report from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).

Pension buyout solutions which try to avoid regulation by both the pension and insurance industry are "doomed to failure", Paul Thornton has claimed.

IRELAND - The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAFP) has urged the industry to look long term in light of its 7% or €7bn (US$10.4bn) downturn so far this month.

INCLUDING: NORDIC - Northern Trust strengthens Nordic team; UK - Henderson adds to SRI team; INDIA - Cordea Savills and Nichani Group in joint venture; UK - Barrie and Hibbert head appointed; UK - Mercer establishes South West presence

US - The Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) has reached a US$15.7m settlement with Qwest, a telecommunications company that lost shareholders over $1.6bn by artificially inflating its stock price in 2001.

GLOBAL - A lack of innovation in design and unnecessarily restrictive regulations could be hampering pension funds, according to OECD deputy secretary general, Aart Jan de Geus.

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority must warn savers that charges may increase over time, Aegon says.

EUROPE - Applying Solvency II legislation to pension funds would be inappropriate and unnecessary, according to speakers at the European Pension Funds Congress in Frankfurt yesterday.