DB Pensions – End-July 2012 PPF 7800 deficit

14 August 2012 The Pension Protection Fund produces a monthly index update (this month’s release has data taken as at end-July 2012) of the estimated funding position of the defined benefit schemes which would be potentially eligible for entry into the Fund. Total scheme deficits rose slightly during the month, from £267.0bn as at end June to £283.0bn as at end July with a corresponding small decrease in s179 funding ratio to 78.9% from 79.6%: Investment assets had a reasonable month but their contribution was outweighted by the impact of reductions in bond yields (and hence an increase in the…

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Incentive Exercises for Pensions : A Code of Good Practice

12 July 2012 A Code of Practice (produced by a broad industry Working Group with Government support: www.incentiveexercises.org.uk) has been released on Incentive Exercises for Pensions. Whilst the Code is voluntary in nature the Minister of Pensions, Steve Webb, has stated that he “expects all employers to voluntarily follow the Code” but does not rule out future legislation in this area though it is hoped that this is not necessary.

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ONS : Consultation on CPI (inclusion of housing costs)

12 July 2012 The Office for National Statistics is consulting on the method for including owner occupier housing costs (OOHC) in a new and additional measure of consumer price inflation. This is important because the current statutory CPI does not capture this (whereas RPI does) and OOHC account for approximately 10% of household expenditure (UK National Accounts). There are a number of possible methods to capture OOHC; ONS propose to accomplish this by converting relevant expenditure into an equivalent rental cost for incorporation into the calculation. Inclusion of OOHC is not currently consistent with the general European Statistics framework and…

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DB Pensions – End-June 2012 PPF 7800 deficit

10 July 2012 The Pension Protection Fund produces a monthly index update (this month’s release has data taken as at end-June 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 a partial tracing of last month’s heavy increase, falling from £312.1bn as at end May to £267.0bn as at end June with a corresponding improvement in s179 funding ratio to 79.6% from 76.8%. Assets had a stable to slightly improved month. Deficit movements were again dominated by changes in gilt yields and these, after…

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Solvency 2 : Draft Technical Specifications; QIS of EIOPA’s Advice on the Review of the IORP Directive

21 June 2012 The European Commission has asked the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) to review the 2003 European Directive for the activities and supervision of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP). The outcome of this process is likely to drive the shape of the UK pensions industry for at least the next ten years and is therefore of vital importance. EIOPA has been criticised in the media for not providing any form of impact analysis for their recommendations; this is an important part of any European legislation and is highly relevant as the stated aims of the…

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Accounting Standards Board : Proposal for disclosures on financial instruments

15 June 2012 The Accounting Standards Board has been working to replace the battery of existing Financial Reporting Standards (FRSs) and Statements of Standard Accounting Practice with a single comprehensive FRS that will provide consistency and cohesion. As part of this, in January 2012, it issued “Revised FRED 46, 47 & 48: The Future of Financial Reporting : Part Two: The Draft Standards” for comment (link provided below).

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