Pensions Expert

Pensions Expert is a dedicated publication based in the United Kingdom that focuses on the workplace pensions sector. It is produced by the Financial Times and has been in circulation since January 1997.

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Relief for DB schemes as government pledges action on section 37 issues

3 days ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

Credit: William Barton/Shutterstock Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes will be able to obtain retrospective sign-off on historic actuarial amendments under legislation planned by the government. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced today that it will introduce legislation to address issues that have emerged following the 2023 and 2024 rulings in the Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees case.
TPR signs off on release of ‘trapped’ surplus in Littlewoods Pension Scheme

4 days ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has allowed the trustees of the Littlewoods Pension Scheme to modify rules and free up surplus funds for payment to the scheme’s sponsoring employer. It is only the second time the regulator has granted a trustee board a “modification order” to amend scheme rules and avoid a surplus becoming “trapped” when the trustees are winding up the pension scheme.
Bell confirms surplus release plans will feature in Pension Schemes Bill

2 weeks ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

The government has confirmed plans to free up billions of pounds from defined benefit (DB) surpluses, with legislation to be introduced through the Pension Schemes Bill. In an announcement today (21 May), the government cited figures from the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) indicating record levels of surplus funding in DB schemes. It also confirmed that the rules would form part of the Pension Schemes Bill, expected to be introduced in parliament in the coming weeks.
LGPS requests more time to manage pooling effectively

3 weeks ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

The Local Government Pension Scheme’s (LGPS) Scheme Advisory Board has penned a letter to pensions minister Torsten Bell requesting more time to implement the government’s requested changes to asset pooling. The board’s chair, Roger Phillips, said in the letter that the LGPS would be “doing a disservice to our seven million members” if it did not make an “urgent request” for an extension to the March 2026 deadline.
Fiduciary duty and the Mansion House Accord: Members must come first

3 weeks ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

This week’s announcement by a consortium of pension providers of an intention to increase domestic investment has been met with caution by pensions and investment experts. The Mansion House Accord – an extension of the 2023 Mansion House Compact – will see 17 defined contribution (DC) pension schemes and providers investing an additional £25bn in UK private markets by 2030.
MPs to scrutinise government plans for UK investment

3 weeks ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

The Work and Pensions Committee will hear evidence from the industry this week around UK investment amid rumours of potential mandatory allocations. The parliamentary committee is in session on Wednesday 14 May to hear from two panels representing pension funds, insurance companies and the wider financial services industry.
Megafunds ball back in government’s court as LGPS pools approved

1 month ago | pensions-expert.com | Alex Janiaud

Six of the eight existing pools have had their plans to comply with the government’s “megafunds” objective approved. Representatives from Border to Coast Pension Partnership, LGPS Central, London CIV and Wales Pension Partnership have confirmed to Pensions Expert that they have received the green light to proceed with pooling their remaining assets by March next year.
Poor default offerings could 'undermine trust and widen generational gap'

1 month ago | pensions-expert.com | Pádraig Floyd

Bobby Riddaway, professional trustee and managing director at HS Trustees, has co-written an open letter with fellow trustee Natalie Waller warning that default strategies often ignore the wishes of savers and could undermine trust and widen an already sizeable “generational pensions gap”. While members cover every demographic group and hold very different priorities, they are rarely asked what they want their money to achieve, Riddaway and Waller said.
Government rejects pooling plans for ACCESS and Brunel

1 month ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have been meeting with each of the eight pools to discuss the responses to the government’s ‘Fit for the future’ consultation. In November, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to merge local authority pension funds into a “handful of megafunds” to boost their capacity to invest in infrastructure and local assets.
Use dashboards preparation to cut admin costs, charities urged

1 month ago | pensions-expert.com | Nick Reeve

Spence & Partners’ latest report on DB pension schemes sponsored by charities found that the average funding level was 100% on an accounting basis. In addition, 44% of charities had stopped paying deficit recovery contributions, compared to 26% in Spence’s report last year, and many schemes have shrunk relative to their employer’s balance sheets.