Tag Archives: pension scheme

The cost of guarantee and trust deficit in the USS- Woon Wong

  This blog from Woon Wong is a very welcome addition to the  evidence that USS is architect of the predicament it finds itself in. Despite a short balloting period, staff of 37 universities voted for strike action over changes … Continue reading

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Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams

Are we doing enough to stop pension scams? The question was asked by MP Nigel Mills at the Jan 6th Work and Pensions Select Committee’s session chaired by Stephen Timms. The question was directed at the Mark Steward, Executive Director … Continue reading

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“What’s the purpose of a pension scheme?” – Con Keating

  Con Keating argues in this piece that pension schemes aspire to “self-sufficiency”, giving them the status of  insurance companies. His thinking centres on what claims we have on schemes if the covenant to fund these schemes is lost. His conclusions … Continue reading

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A wage in retirement or freedom from pensions?

Yesterday I wrote about one aspect of the dispute between Royal Mail and its workers – the difference in opinion between the two sides on how postal workers are financially supported in retirement. It appears very simple; Royal Mail want to … Continue reading

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How Pensions are getting fairer.

I was speaking with a Scottish friend , an academic and one of the few  politicians I know who was brought up without a lot of money in the family. I had to phrase that carefully, for when  I first wrote … Continue reading

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Why due diligence is soooooooo important!

  Yesterday I wrote about pension charges and the difference between poor practice and malpractice . At some point the value for money swing-ometre  tips into rip-off territory and it’s almost always when those managing its costs of a scheme, stop acting … Continue reading

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I smell a (pensions) rat – what can I do?

An advert appeared yesterday on the Pension Play Pen Linked In Group.. If you’re in our Group, you can see it here The organisation – Save My Pension is offering a “route to market” with the message from its Director Danny Smith  … Continue reading

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Why DB pension promises may need a credit rating.

How do you rate the creditworthiness of your scheme’s funding? Trustees of defined benefit schemes now have to properly assess the employer’s ability (and willingness) to fund the promises made to the members of the scheme. The assessment helps them in negotiations with the … Continue reading

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NOW – that’s what I call pensions!

    Why the Pension PlayPen supports NOW as a workplace pension It’s no easy thing starting a master trust from scratch. Though NOW Pensions, had the experience of running a state backed pension in Denmark (through parent APT), coming … Continue reading

Posted in advice gap, auto-enrolment, now, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments