DB Pensions – End-February 2012 PPF 7800 deficit

20 March 2012 The Pension Protection Fund produces a monthly index update (the March 2012 release has data taken as at 29 February 2012) of the estimated funding position of the defined benefit schemes which would be potentially eligible for entry into the Fund. Total scheme deficits showed an decrease from £265.5bn as at end January to £222.2bn as at end February with a corresponding improvement in s179 funding ratio to 82.4%. It is worth noting that s179 deficits are calculated with reference to eligible benefits on entry to the PPF (approximately: 100% of pensions already in payment and 90%…

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DB Pensions – End-January 2012 PPF 7800 deficit

15 February 2012 The Pension Protection Fund produces a monthly index update (the February 2012 release has data taken as at 31 January 2012) of the estimated funding position of the defined benefit schemes which would be potentially eligible for entry into the Fund. Total scheme deficits showed an decrease from £270.8bn as at end December to £265.5bn as at end January with a corresponding small improvement in s179 funding ratio to almost 80%: It is worth noting that s179 deficits are calculated with reference to eligible benefits on entry to the PPF (approximately: 100% of pensions already in payment…

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The Pensions Regulator : Updated Auto Enrolment Guidance

13 February 2012 The Pensions Regulator has published updated step-by-step guidance on auto enrolment responsibilities for employers. Initially aimed at larger schemes, the rollout will eventually encompass substantially all employers. The guidance covers the process of workforce assessment : which employers are covered and who is out, scheme provision and transition, the automatic enrolment process : plus opting-in and opting-out, employee safeguards and record-keeping. The current timetable has auto-enrolment going live for the largest employers (120,000 employees and above) in Q4 2012, with rapid progressive rollout down to medium sized schemes (30,000 and above) by year-end. Other schemes have longer…

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PPF/tPR : 2011 Purple Book

2 February 2012 Each year (2011 is the sixth year of production), the Pension Protection Fund and the Pensions Regulator jointly publish the Pensions Universe Risk Profile (Purple Book). This document profiles the state and risks facing UK defined benefit schemes. The analysis is conducted using scheme returns and 2011 therefore covers some 98% of the total number of schemes and 99.6% of estimated total liabilities. It is therefore highly representative of the state of the industry. The main data and analysis focuses on the situation at the end of March 2011 : the summary therefore bears out relatively little…

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DWP Consultation : Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) Equalisation

27 January 2012 The Department of Work and Pensions has launched a consultation on new draft regulations for Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) equalisation along with a proposed possible method for accomplishing equality of treatment. Progress on this consultation has already proven unusual as it has already excited significant negative press comment and is likely to continue to prove controversial.

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Central Clearing of Derivatives : EMIR Update

26 January 2012 There has been some relief in the pensions area, and in investment management in general, that we have been granted a three-year exemption from the EMIR requirement that over the counter derivatives should be centrally cleared through exchanges. Pension schemes which have established swap-based liability hedging programs would be particularly badly hit, though the legislation would extend to the use of derivatives in other areas: such as bond fund management, where they are routinely used to manage duration and credit risk.

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