Report
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April, 2020
Covid-19 hikes deficits by £100 billion in week one
The market volatility caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 added £100 billion to the deficits of the UK’s defined benefit schemes in just one week, according to analysis by Hymans Robertson. The downturn in global equity markets had taken solvency deficits to around £500 billion and if the spread continues could cause a macroeconomic shock, which has ...
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April, 2020
FCA delays DB transfer reforms
The Financial Conduct Authority has pushed back the implementation of its planned changes to the defined benefit transfer market by six months. The regulator had been expected to implement the reforms, which will include plans to ban contingent charging and introduce abridged advice, during the first quarter of this year. However, the FCA updated its ...
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April, 2020
Northumberland and Tyne and Wear schemes plan to merge
The government has launched a consultation on plans to combine the Northumberland County Council Pension Scheme into the Tyne and Wear scheme, in the hope of saving up to 12% in administrative and governance costs a year. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said changes affecting the LGPS including the introduction of the career ...
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April, 2020
London CIV strengthens senior management key appointments
The London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) has made three appointments to its management team, aiming to strengthen its responsible investment resources. LCIV, one of the eight LGPS investment pools, has hired Jason Fletcher as chief investment officer, commencing in July. Fletcher joins after three years as chief investment officer at LPGS Central, ...
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April, 2020
TPR advises on Covid-19 contingency plans
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged trustees to put appropriate monitoring and contingency plans in place to account for the financial risks of Covid-19 to their schemes. In a statement the regulator said it was “engaging with the pensions industry to understand the pressure it faces from Covid-19 and to help minimise any impact on ...
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April, 2020
Falling Gilt yields to weigh heavily on funding
Plummeting Gilt yields will likely cause further funding problems for defined benefit pension schemes, as investors pile into safe haven assets amid the Covid-19 outbreak, according to pensions consultancy Barnett Waddingham. Short-term fixed-interest Gilt yields turned negative for the first time in history in March, exacerbated by the cut in the Bank of ...
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April, 2020
LGPS trustee knowledge to be tested
Hymans Robertson has launched a national assessment to measure levels of knowledge and understanding in the local government pension scheme. The National Knowledge Assessment will provide LGPS funds with a clear insight into the knowledge levels of their key decision-makers on a national basis. The assessment will provide evidence and information to all ...
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April, 2020
Schemes ordered to test assets for climate risk
Trustees will be required to stress test their investment portfolios against a range of climate-related risks, according to provisional guidance launched by the government. An amendment to the pensions bill will give the government the power to mandate schemes to report on the potential impact of climate change and the low carbon transition on their assets ...
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April, 2020
Government soon to unveil McCloud remedies
The government is “developing proposals” to address the unlawful age discrimination identified in public sector pension schemes by the Court of Appeal in the McCloud case. Under the reforms introduced in 2015, older members could stay in their existing schemes, while newer members had to transfer to a less generous scheme. However, in 2018 the court ...
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April, 2020
PLSA urges trustees to engage on climate change
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has called upon trustees to hold companies to account on how they manage climate change risk in its updated annual Stewardship Guide and Voting Guidelines. In October, new regulations were introduced requiring trustees to understand and disclose how they include financially-material ESG factors, and ...
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