Category Archives: EU Solvency II

Will health insurers be unlikely winners from Covid-19?

Posted on April 22, 2020 by henry tapper

  Background Much of the media and public attention is focused on the progression of Covid-19 in terms of cumulative and daily number of cases, deaths and recoveries.  However, for health actuaries, our key interest is in infection rates and … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, coronavirus, EU Solvency II, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

GARs – a simpler way out for insurers…

Posted on June 22, 2015 by henry tapper

This blog offers insurers a simple way out of the problem they have with Guaranteed Annuity Rates- it means paying the reserved for value of the policy rather than the (lower) investment value of the contributions. By way of explanation.. … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, EU Solvency II, investment, London, Pension Freedoms, pension playpen, pensions, Pensions Regulator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A promise or a guarantee?

Posted on January 4, 2014 by henry tapper

If Steve Webb wants AE to work, he should stop turning promises into guarantees and burdening employers with unforeseen liabilities and huge consultative and administrative costs. Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, auto-enrolment, corporate governance, EU Solvency II, Fiduciary Management, leadership, Liability Driven Investment, pension playpen, Popcorn Pensions, steve webb | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Fit lean pension machines” – an uncomfortable prospect?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by henry tapper

We move into day two of auto-enrolment with all to play for on a pitch increasingly likely to take spin Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, auto-enrolment, Bankers, dc pensions, EU Solvency II, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

“Stick or twist” for the lifecos.

Posted on April 1, 2013 by henry tapper

It is hard for the insurers to twist because they think the dealer’s against them. Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, customer service, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, EU Solvency II, Financial Education, Henry Tapper blog, pension playpen, pensions, Personality, Popcorn Pensions, Retail Distribution Review, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Why we need to say “NO” to pension guarantees!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by henry tapper

On Monday the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries delivered a paper stating that it would be able to deliver a system of lock-in guarantees at a price of less than 1% pa of the fund that could be used by … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment, Bankers, club pension, corporate governance, customer service, David Pitt-Watson, dc pensions, defined aspiration, EU Solvency II, FSA, happiness, Liability Driven Investment, NEST, pension playpen, pensions, Personal Accounts, Retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

End of an epoch?

Posted on July 25, 2012 by henry tapper

This is an article by Con Keating, reproduced with his kind permission. It’s hard but it’s worth it- Con is the cleverest man in town. The demise of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s was epoch-defining; it constituted a massive shift of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankers, Change, economics, EU Solvency II, Treasury | Leave a comment

Define your aspiration.

Posted on February 13, 2012 by henry tapper

Last week, the brotherhood  of DB and DC pensions got a little sister when Steve Webb introduced the prospect of DA to the family. There is nothing new about the search for a third way, indeed it is the pensions equivalent of the … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, corporate governance, customer service, dc pensions, de-risking, defined aspiration, EU Solvency II, NEST | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Aspirational pensions – popcorn pensions!!

Posted on February 11, 2012 by henry tapper

There are going to be a lot of objections to aspirational pensions over the weeks and months to come, but for me they are popcorn pensions – delicious, affordable and while they may not be the haute cuisine of the guaranteed Final Salary plans pragmatic.

Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, dc pensions, de-risking, EU Solvency II, happiness, Henry Tapper blog, Management, pension playpen, pensions, Popcorn Pensions, Public sector pensions, Retirement, Treasury | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

“Making Pension Charges Clearer” – good on the NAPF

Posted on January 21, 2012 by henry tapper

The NAPF, as I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog, are a rather better trade body than you’d expect . Revitalised by Joanne Seagers and Dan Torjussen-Proctor they appear a more progressive member centric organisation than in years gone by. Ambitiously, they … Continue reading →

Posted in annuity, auto-enrolment, corporate governance, dc pensions, de-risking, EU Solvency II, pensions, Retirement, social media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments