Tag Archives: actuaries

Why do DB transfer values make me sick?

Posted on August 29, 2019 by

One of the things ordinary people find hardest to work out is why their share of a defined benefit scheme can go up when stock markets go down. This happened last month where the stock market fell. But in August, … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, advice gap, BSPS, FCA, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Convince or collapse – the options for small DB schemes in the next decade.

Posted on August 13, 2019 by

    We stand on the cusp of the third decade of the 21st century. That decade is likely to see small DB schemes collapse into consolidators or stand firm with renewed conviction. I wonder if I will still be … Continue reading →

Posted in CDC, dc pensions, de-risking, defined ambition, defined aspiration, pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

CDC and the actuarial profession

Posted on November 29, 2018 by

  I am not an actuary, I work with actuaries and I work for an actuarial firm. I stand up for actuaries and I praise them where praise is due. Yesterday saw an attack on the actuarial profession on twitter … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Other ways of doing CDC

Posted on October 3, 2018 by

  It’s great when you wake up – turn on your phone and get a really great couple of messages! This is what happened this morning to me Last night John Ralfe had been asking me where I felt CDC … Continue reading →

Posted in CDC, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With “good risk” , we can push the sky away.

Posted on June 4, 2018 by

    This from City AM’s Josh Mines The pension deficit of the UK’s 350 largest companies tumbled by a huge £16bn over the course of May, figures out today have shown. In just one month, the FTSE 350 pension … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What now for the new BSPS and its members?

Posted on May 17, 2018 by

I was sent an announcement yesterday about the new British Steel Pension Scheme. It’s a complicated message and I’ve tried to add comments that explain what each paragraph means in a little easier way. My comments are in green. They … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, BSPS, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“If not ACAS – who?” No end in sight to the USS dispute.

Posted on March 24, 2018 by

The dispute between the University employers (UUK) and their teaching staff (UCU), shows no sign of resolution. Indeed, with students breaking for their Easter holidays, impulsion for a settlement has now reduced. There would have been little teaching done over … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions, USS | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The pension transfer debate can’t be left to experts!

Posted on May 28, 2017 by

I’m a big fan of outright hostility on social media, especially if it is directed at me. I don’t rate myself as anywhere near as good as Paul Lewis – who is the master at absorbing and developing such hostility … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Actuaries – many ears here to listen!

Posted on May 14, 2017 by

I am glad that I had a go at the actuarial experts arguing in the FT.  It didn’t change the way  people behaved yesterday – (although several hundred people appear to have spent time reading it) – but  it solicited … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Actuaries! Talk with us – don’t argue with each other.

Posted on May 13, 2017 by

  There’s a  silly letter in the FT this week which I print in full.  Sir, Jo Cumbo’s report “Mortality update bodes well for pension deficits” (May 4) refers to an assertion by PwC that slowing mortality improvements could reduce UK … Continue reading →

Posted in actuaries, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments