Less than a year into the job, shadow pensions minister Rachel Reeves has got her teeth into some important areas of pension legislation. But might this be at the expense of more crucial issues, asks Pensions Management?

After a short career break, Mike O’Brien is firmly back in the institutional driving seat at JPMAM, and is determined to build a global business based on relationships rather than products

Aviva’s Toby Strauss is keen to leave behind the turbulence of the past to concentrate on the development of the insurer’s unifying wrap platform

Toby Strauss joined Aviva as part of the insurer’s takeover of struggling wrap provider Lifetime (of which he was managing director) and progressed to chief operating officer of Aviva Life and Pensions UK in 2009, before becoming chief executive officer of the division last year. But he hasn’t had the easiest of roles.

Alan Brown is clearly enjoying his time at the top of his profession as both a writer and CIO, and relishes the idea of taking on even greater investment risk to ensure Schroders’ future success

As chair of four organisations including JLT Benefits Solutions and the NSPCC, Mark Wood’s influence is wide-ranging, and he shows no sign of slowing down, with an equity release venture under consideration

The Godfather of Sipps is retiring after 40 years in the business. Will all that hard-won experience and knowhow be parked by a pool in Spain, or does John Moret have something up his sleeve?

Joanne Segars is in a good mood. The impeccably dressed chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) is two days into her three-day conference and all is going well.

However, she is immensely busy; I’ve only got half an hour with her, so we dive straight in to the questions. Given she’s just scored the most enormous coup in getting both pensions minister Steve Webb and John Hutton, the chair of the review into public sector pensions, to attend and speak at her conference at the last minute, her views on the coalition government seem a good place to start.

As the UK’s undergraduates prepare to return to university, most will be full of excitement at seeing their class mates, dreading receiving their timetable with the inevitable morning lecture and pondering how they’ll make their student loan last until Christmas.

Steve Webb is in a fidgety, excitable mood. The new pensions minister has clearly been relishing the opportunity to get his hands on the UK’s beleaguered pensions systems, but that’s not to say he doesn’t recognise the scale of the challenge before him.

It could be said that America and the UK are two nations divided by a common economic problem – the declining provision of workplace pensions and the failure of many millions to save for retirement.
But if the situation in the UK seems bad, pity our American cousins. Roughly half of the country’s workers are employed by companies with no pension scheme, which means about 78 million Americans are approaching a retirement having accrued no workplace savings. For a country with an inherent dislike of federal paternalism, the prospect of tens of millions relying on state handouts in old age is a scary one.

Fresh from a consecutive two-year win for trustee excellence, Mike Sullivan tells Hjalmar Tjan about Veolia Environnement’s governance approach and the challenges of a hung parliament

Lothian Pension Fund’s head of investment Geik Drever discusses the challenges and advantages of managing money in-house, and its mission to be a top-performing scheme.

Simon Foster is keen to impart a strong savings message to the working population, and in his new role at Zurich he is building a solid platform from which to do this, he tells Nick Reeve

Milton Cartwright has a significant influence on how the UK’s pensions are run and regulated. Owen Walker meets the man behind the headlines and gauges his opinion on pensions reform

Frank Field is one of the most outspoken MPs in parliament. Here, he tells Owen Walker where he thinks the government has gone wrong on pensions and how it can be fixed

It may be a far cry from a one-telephone operation, but as Hargreaves Lansdown continues to face economic challenges, its founder tells Owen Walker he can’t wait for the next 25 years

As many firms struggle to persuade their employees to join the company pension scheme, Pádraig Floyd finds Corn Flakes manufacturer Kellogg’s has achieved a 97% take-up rate

Alexandre Col tells Pádraig Floyd the difficulties faced by many hedge fund-of-funds managers are largely of their own making, and that better governance will lead to better control

PPF chief executive Alan Rubenstein tells Owen Walker about the flurry of funds currently turning to the pensions lifeboat, listening to stakeholders and government backing

Member of the pensions elite Alan Pickering talks to Pádraig Floyd about independent trusteeship, his battle with the government to better pensions and the need for proportionate regulation

Shadow pensions secretary Theresa May tells Charlie Kirby about shoes, MPs’ benefits and how she plans to tackle the issues facing personal accounts and public sector pension reform

In the latest cabinet reshuffle, the weighty responsibility of the pensions post fell to Rosie Winterton. And she is looking forward to meeting the challenges ahead, she tells Tom Willetts

Aston Goodey is relishing the opportunity to make his mark at a smaller company, where he is keen to ensure products are matched to individual requirements, he tells Owen Walker

Simon Hopkins, CEO, Fortune Group, tells Pádraig Floyd that even though the hedge fund industry requires a complete overhaul, it still has a place for UK pension schemes

Owen Walker speaks to TUC general secretary Brendan Barber about the pivotal role of the body in pensions reform, and its campaign to empower trustees to actively engage with companies