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Solvency Funding in Pension Schemes (10 December 2007)
Punter Southall have produced a detailed research paper on the implications if a solvency regime similar to the Solvency II regime for insurance companies were to be applied to pensions. The paper’s key arguments are as follows:
Pensions and insurance are very different financial instruments and so should be treated differently for funding purposes.
Existing protections for pension schemes are more than adequate in many European countries.
Introducing a solvency regime could have a negative effect across Europe, deterring private pension provision.
In particular, it would have significant effects in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, both on pension schemes and their members and potentially on the wider economy.
Security is itself a benefit and as such has a cost – extra security in funding would be likely to lead to lower benefits.
Please click here for the following:
Press release
Solvency Funding in Pension Schemes: executive summary
Solvency Funding in Pension Schemes: full paper
Appendix A: The UK Pensions Environment
Co-founder who refuses to stand still in his desire to be ahead of the game
Punter Southall's Jonathan Punter tells the Financial Times' Pauline Skypala that the firm's unusual combination of businesses is far from accidental.
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Variability of accounting figures brief
While pension accounting standards such as FRS17 and IAS19
appear to be heavily prescribed, there is a range for actuarial
assumptions that can have a significant effect on figures
disclosed.This briefing note illustrates the possible impact of
assumptions at different ends of the ranges used in ten
significant areas Read more -->
Age Discrimination and Pension Schemes
The pensions aspects of the age discrimination legislation finally came into force on 1 December 2006 with final guidance following shortly afterwards. For more information on the pensions aspects of age discrimination, please refer to the briefing note below or contact Jane Beverley.
Briefing note: What will age discrimination legislation mean for pension schemes?
This briefing note (updated in December 2006) explores some of the key issues from a pension scheme’s perspective, including:
- Background to the legislation
- Discrimination
- Objective justification
- Exemptions
- Limitations to exemptions
- Actions for trustees and employers
- Claims by employees
- Personal pension schemes
For the full briefing note please click here.
Internal Controls
New regulations impose requirements on trustees to establish adequate internal controls for the operation of their pension scheme. The purpose of the new regulations is to promote good administration, and hence to protect members' benefits and reduce calls on the Pension Protection Fund.
For more information about internal controls and how we can help, click here for our Internal Controls Flyer.
To download Punter Southall's Pension Administration Assurance Report on Internal Contols (AAF 01/06) please click here: Assurance Report.
CompleteDB
Generally the pensions industry has been slow to respond to the unique requirements of maturing defined benefit schemes. However, our CompleteDB service helps trustees and scheme sponsors alike by:
- giving access to leading edge investment techniques which can help you manage the scheme’s deficit;
- providing full compliance services across the range of actuarial, administration and investment requirements; and
- doing it all for a predictable cost.
For more information please see our CompleteDB flyer
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