Special Report - 2013: Time for Pension Scheme Innovation?

In this Finance iQ Report, a panel of industry experts debate pertinent questions on the changing UK pensions system, offering an in-depth overview of what lies ahead. We asked:
-Will the proposed flat-rate state pension be an improvement on the basic pension system?
-Is roll-out of the new automatic enrolment system proving successful?
-How are the last of the final salary pensions being dealt with?
-Can fiduciary management help improve governance structures and investment agility?

Is Fiduciary Management Beneficial - and is Today’s Pensions System Sustainable?

Interview with Richard Butcher, Managing Director, Pitmans Trustees, offers his reflections on Steve Webb’s announcement on flat-rate state pension schemes; that people will now have to make 35 years worth of National Insurance contributions to be eligible. He also looks back on the first six months of auto-enrolment – commenting on public perceptions of it and whether he thinks it’s sustainable.

The Challenges Ahead to Secure the Pensions of 11 Million Employees

Interview with Tim Jones, Chief Executive Officer of NEST, discusses what needs to be done in the pensions and fiduciary management space to provide today’s employees with a financially stable future. He discusses the implications of auto-enrolment, pressures facing trustees in 2013, new regulations impacting how pension schemes are run, and the introduction of state flat-rate pension.

Is Fiduciary Management Right for all Schemes – and is Full Delegation/Implemented Consultancy Best?

Interview with Susan Anyan, Director of Capital Cranfield Trustees, a fund specialising in fiduciary management wrapped in dynamic de-risking, says: “fiduciary management is an opportunity to delegate some activity, and to take advantage of certain asset classes that might be hard to access if the scheme itself isn't big enough to do that on its own.” On the other hand, she says: “I have a couple of schemes who have decided that they prefer to invest the time and effort themselves into managing their investments because they feel that they have a good governance structure and some investment agility.”

Is Fiduciary Management the vital lifeline for the survival of the DB scheme?

Nigel Birch, Market Intelligence Consultant at Spence Johnson, joins Finance IQ ahead of the Fiduciary Management Summit 2012 to discuss developments and trends in European Fiduciary Management.

“Schemes are beginning to realise that in order to employ these more sophisticated strategies and indeed pursue a better outcome, they must leverage the resources of professional partners, fiduciary managers, and delegate the operational tasks to these partners in order to free up the governance budget to oversee and focus on the strategy which ultimately adds more value to the scheme.”

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A Closer Look at Pension Governance

Leo Kolivakis is publisher of Pension Pulse, a widely-read financial blog that is a one stop centre for information and insight pertaining to pension funds and financial markets. He has years of experience at two of Canada’s largest public pension funds and he joins Finance IQ in this podcast to take a closer look at pension governance and issues currently impacting markets and pensions.

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Fiduciary Management Insights: Overview 2013

During 2012, Ernst & Young hosted a series of four webcasts to introduce pension trustees and company representatives to the concept of fiduciary management. In all, over 500 individuals participated in these webcasts. During these events, we asked participants for their thoughts on a variety of subjects.

Participant responses were interesting and varied. They illustrate both a keen interest in the rapidly growing fiduciary management market in the UK and Ireland and the key questions stakeholders have about best practice in pension scheme governance.
This short publication captures their views along with some of our insights.

Interview Transcript: Susan Anyan, Director of Capital Cranfield Trustees, a fund specialising in fiduciary management wrapped in dynamic de-risking: “Fiduciary management is an opportunity to delegate some activity, and to take advantage of certain asset classes that might be hard to access if the scheme itself isn't big enough to do that on its own.” On the other hand, she says: “I have a couple of schemes who have decided that they prefer to invest the time and effort themselves into managing their investments because they feel that they have a good governance structure and some investment agility.”

Is Fiduciary Management Beneficial - and is Today’s Pensions System Sustainable?

Interview Transcript: Richard Butcher, Managing Director, Pitmans Trustees, reflects on Steve Webb’s announcement on flat-rate state pension schemes; that people will have to make 35 years worth of National Insurance contributions to be eligible. He also looks back on the first six months of auto-enrolment – commenting on public perceptions and whether it’s sustainable. The interview also covers final salary schemes and how they are evolving. Plus, whether fiduciary management can help save DB schemes by offering improved governance structure and investment agility. 

Changes to the Pensions System and the Role of Fiduciary Management

Interview Transcript: Penny Green, Chief Executive at Saul Trustee Company, joins Finance IQ to discuss developments in Pensions and the role of Fiduciary Management. She talks about the implications of changes to flat-rate state pension schemes, assesses the impact of auto-enrolment and reflects on the evolution of final salary schemes. During the interview, Penny also sums up what she sees as the major pressures facing trustees in 2013 and whether there is any new regulation which will impact on how pension schemes are run. She also talks about how employees of today should take steps to ensure a financially stable future and whether we can have faith in the current pensions system.