The economist Lord Skidelsky has warned UK pension scheme trustees the threat of deflation far outweighs inflation.

KAS Bank has developed a stress test for pension funds to help trustees understand how resilient their pension scheme would be in times of extreme economic crisis.

Pensions Management has teamed up with Retirement Angels for a survey looking at member communications in the run-up to retirement.

Trustees of beleaguered music giant EMI have reached a decision with the sponsor over a six-year recovery plan for its defined benefit scheme.

scheme news

The UK’s first multi-asset defined contribution (DC) benchmark has launched, providing schemes with an accurate reflection of market performance to develop their default funds.

A pensions risk measurement tool currently in contract negotiations with 70 employers has entered into an exclusive deal with State Street.

Legal & General (L&G) is launching its first employer-funded retirement benefit scheme (EFRBS) with a “household name” construction company.

The £5bn E.ON UK pension scheme has moved to a dynamic asset allocation strategy and a focus on matching its funding requirements more closely.

Fresh concerns have been raised about the funding of pension schemes attached to UK charities, after a branch of the YMCA in Wales was threatened with insolvency.

BT has agreed to a 17-year payment plan for its £9bn deficit, following talks with its trustees.

Lord Myners has warned trustees they must act now if they are to prevent the UK’s largest banks doling out excessive bonus packages this year.

The BBC has cut incentives for early retirement by making many early-leaver payments cost-neutral for its final salary fund.

An asset-liability modeller for defined benefit (DB) schemes, which aims to offer an alternative to the “dark arts of actuaries”, has been launched.

Target date funds, long considered the optimal design for default investment strategies in US defined contribution (DC) schemes, have failed to perform, particularly during the current recessionary
markets.

Most large pension funds are satisfied customers of securities lending one year after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, a survey by Pensions Week and Data Explorers has found. A survey of the 50 biggest pension funds found 68% currently participate in stock lending, and make on average around £2m a year from the activity.

Providers of default funds are increasing the rate of innovation, despite little movement from employers in adopting new approaches.

BP has confirmed it is to offer new staff a contract-based pension from April next year.

Default funds in defined contribution (DC) schemes are increasingly under greater scrutiny, according to new research.

Lawyers have predicted a wave of equalisation litigation, following the news that Eversheds and Mercer are facing a claim from a UK scheme.

BlackRock has completed the implementation of the first multinational, multi-scheme fiduciary mandate.

Abbey, the financial services company owned by the Santander group, is making significant changes to its company pensions as part of a strategy to improve risk controls in its defined benefit (DB) schemes.

The £1.3bn Trafalgar House Pensions Trust may take on struggling small and medium-sized schemes that lack enough governance to avoid dramatic market losses.

Increasingly complex legisla-tion and difficulties stemming from the recession are fuelling an increase in demand for independent professional trustee services, according to providers.

The trustees of the Age Concern England (ACE) final salary pension scheme have reached an agreement with one of its small employers.

Although trustees are demonstrating a greater awareness of the impact of increasing longevity, they must work harder at analysing the risks to their own schemes.