The Liberal Democrat shadow work and pensions secretary has called for greater scrutiny of public sector pensions in what he sees as a rapid move towards “two nations of pensions”.

While trade bodies and companies in the pensions industry have given a thumbs-up to Paul Myners’ appointment as head of the personal accounts delivery authority, the Conservatives have been quick to label the choice as “controversial”.

The Deregulatory Review report has been broadly welcomed by different corners of the industry, with many hailing the proposal to make it easier for employers to retrieve surplus funds as a particularly good move.

“It is important that we strike a balance between protecting members’ benefits and encouraging employer provision of pensions. I am pleased the focus of their report is encouraging sustainable pension provision for employees in the future – not only via traditional schemes, but also through innovative approaches where both employers and employees share the risks inherent in pension provision.”
Mike O’Brien - Minister for pensions reform

A Pension Protection Fund (PPF) consultation on future levy charges has met with opposition within the industry.

Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP) has warned some of Britain’s biggest firms their reliance on investment in equities exposes their pension funds to considerable risk.

It hasn’t been a very relaxing summer. Turmoil in the credit and interbank lending markets has led to widespread nervousness among investors, hitting global equity markets. The MSCI World Index dropped by 3.7% over August 9-10, as major strains emerged in the global financial system.

With the US equities market in turmoil and the FTSE 100 dropping below the critical 6000 support barrier, pensions experts are predicting cont-inued pain.

Funds-of-hedge funds are still a good bet for investors looking for strong long-term returns without excessive risk, says Standard & Poor’s Fund Services.

This year’s investment management closed season resembles the final stages of August in the football world, with a flurry of activity and signings. Here’s a brief roundup of what’s been going on in the past month.

With continental European property markets having outperformed the UK since the start of the year and with high real estate investment trust volatility, many UK institutional investors are now actively rebalancing their portfolios’ property holdings towards European property in order to reduce their reliance on the UK property market.

The latest government consultation on transfer values for final salary schemes has been criticised for driving a further wedge between trustees and employers.

As the Conservatives annou-nced their plan to scrap inheritance tax (IHT), a top pension director has slammed life offices that claim scheme pensions are a way of avoiding IHT.

The Financial Services Auth-ority (FSA) has clarified that the term ‘independent’ will continue to mean whole-of-market until the retail distribution review (RDR) comes into effect.

Prudential has launched a unit-linked bond wrapper, which introduces a factory-gate priced remuneration model to the firm’s investment portfolio for the first time.

If you really want to understand where this summer’s volatility came from, and how to accurately forecast the next episode, then the third edition of Forecasting Volatility in the Financial Markets (edited by John Knight and Stephen Satchell) is worth a read.

Despite the recent turmoil in the stock market, the First Quench (Threshers) pension scheme has moved from a £24m deficit to a FRS 17 surplus of £10m since Pensions Corporation Investments (PCI) took control of the off licence chain in early June.

When it comes to delivering major projects, the government’s record is not good. Take the national firearms database, for example. Legislation was passed in 1997 following the Dunblane shootings, but numerous false starts later, the Home Office has still not implemented it.

Self-invested personal pension (Sipp) holders are choosing readymade diversified funds for their portfolios, rather than handpicking individual investments themselves.

Trustees are being urged to make sure they have adequate insurance, as risks such as identity fraud are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Suffolk Life is planning to introduce changes to the structure of its self-invested personal pension (Sipp) this autumn in a bid to sidestep investment restrictions and the proposed gearing level reduction.

One of the fiercest critics of Raising Standards in Pensions Administration (RSPA) has been won over by their recent general statements of admin-istration standards (GSAS) document.

So you’ve had your holidays, the kids are back at school and you’re desperately looking forward to your Christmas break.

The UK pensions crisis has kickstarted a period of massive reform. But with consumer trust at an all-time low, how can the industry rekindle people’s interest in saving for retirement?

I’ve just read something interesting about what’s happening on the pension front in Germany. I don’t know if you know, but over in Germany the maximum pension benefit a civil servant can become entitled to on retirement is 71.5% of final salary. That compares favourably to the maximum pension benefit for an average German employee, who today is restricted to 50% of final salary.

Ruth Emery asks Barry Norris about future investment trends, sector movements and his decision-making skills, and finds out what he would be doing if he wasn’t a fund manager

Public sector liabilities, poor FAS performance and the lack of faith in personal accounts all begin to paint a dismal picture of the government’s management of UK pensions

The regulator caused a stir this summer when it slapped an FSD onto Sea Containers over its scheme deficit. But many questions will be raised by the company’s subsequent appeal

A gradual rise in breakeven rates over the past 12 months has caused people to question whether this is purely down to lack of inflation control, or if other factors are to blame

Solicitor Jason Shaw takes a look at two separate cases that both deal with grey areas in pensions law and service obligations, each of which have notable outcomes for trustees

Ruth Emery talks to Chris Hitchin, chairman of the NAPF, about the importance of its role in contributing to policy reform, and about juggling two senior positions

Like many reviews and commissions, the RDR could have far-reaching effects, if the associated documents can be translated. The key points are outlined here

At last third-party administration has settled into a period of stability, with regulation and standards uniting the highly competitive marketplace

Investing ethically is currently a hot topic in most financial industries. But what are the reasons behind this shift, and what can businesses hope to gain from it?

LDI strategies have become second nature to many large schemes, but where does this leave the smaller, more cautious pension funds?

Changes to the pensions act have called for an increase in the number of elected trustees. But how can trustee boards take advantage of this scrutiny to get the best from their nominated representatives?

Auto-enrolment is seen as the answer to the pensions take-up problem. But perhaps getting people to face what the absence of a pension would mean for them would be a more provocative solution?

Bestrustees has swooped to sign up two pensions big hitters in Penny Green and Richard Stroud.

Hewitt Associates has been busy recruiting with a raft of appointments.

Hermes is on the lookout for a new chief executive, following the departure of Mark Anson.