The Dutch-born delegated consulting framework has had mixed fortunes, but providers are adapting their offerings to cater to an ever more needy client base

The Marine Pilots case was extremely complicated. It involved a multi-employer defined benefit (DB) scheme, and looked to clarify 39 separate issues. Most of those relate solely to the Pilots National Pension Fund (PNPF), but there are three key areas that can be applied across the board:

In March this year, Axa commissioned an online survey of 2,000 people to assess what they thought about public sector pensions compared with those available to the private sector. Two-thirds of those surveyed believed it is unfair that pensions for those in the public sector are generally better than those in the private sector. As if backing up this research, an initial report into public sector pensions by Sir Alan Budd, under the auspices of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), is expected to deliver what the press refers to as “a dose of economic reality on the state of Britain’s pensions”.

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men gang aft agley. Or, in prosaic English: in spite of everything, stuff goes wrong. The distinction between the Scots and the English here is more than simply one of translation, as it would seem that Scottish courts view human failings through a softer lens than the English – but I am getting ahead of myself.

Fiduciary management has caught on in global markets, but the UK is moving cautiously and taking its time in picking up on the trend

Is there a future for legacy defined benefit plans, and what would the perfect scheme look like today if it was designed from scratch?

In a constantly changing environment, how should schemes be communicating with their members and what are the key issues affecting understanding of investment decisions?

Schemes and their sponsors face some tough decisions in relation to this year’s actuarial valuations

Schemes undergo many changes in their lifetime, all of which can threaten the integrity of the data. Cleansing is therefore a necessary journey to ensure accurate calculations

The success story of fiduciary management in the Netherlands raises the question of whether it could benefit UK schemes

Far from lacking in importance, an efficient and transparent accounting function is essential for any pension scheme to run smoothly and avoid problems at year end

The downturn may have delayed schemes’ decisions to offload liabilities via buyout, but the market is ripe for development in 2009

Employers can take steps to increase the worth of employees’ benefits, while at the same time reducing costs to the company

The effect of poor quality data can wreak havoc for administrators and scheme members, leading to increased liabilities