Funding – Page 128
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News
BT trustees seek clarity on 'crown guarantee' in court case
UK – BT’s pension trustees will launch a court action this week to determine the extent of the company’s ‘crown guarantee’.
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NewsDAX30 companies amass €2bn pension reserves for former directors
GERMANY – Former directors cost DAX30 companies an average of €7m in pension reserve payments annually, figures from the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung have shown.
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NewsNedlloyd pension fund blames alternatives misery on Madoff scandal
NETHERLANDS – The €1.2bn pension fund of Dutch shipping company Nedlloyd has attributed the 15% underperformance of its alternatives investments to fraudster Bernard Madoff.
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NewsSwitching UK pension indexation to CPI may add complexity, experts warn
UK – Government plans to change the indexation of private sector defined benefit (DB) occupational pensions from Retail Price Inflation (RPI) to Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in line with changes to public sector pensions could cause even more complexity to pensions.
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News
UK Pensions Regulator issues FSD against Nortel for £2.1bn deficit
UK – The UK Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed it has issued a Financial Support Direction (FSD) against 25 companies in the Nortel Group in Canada, the US, the UK and Europe, requiring them to provide support to the UK pension scheme to cover a £2.1bn (€2.5bn) deficit.
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NewsCommittee recommends USS move to career average for new members
UK – The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) of the £28bn (€33bn) Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has agreed a package of reforms to be recommended to trustees after the chairman had to make a casting vote in favour of a move to a career average scheme.
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NewsSmiths Group sets up escrow account for pension deficit
UK – Smiths Group, the global technology company, has reached an agreement with the trustees of its two UK pension schemes to recover the combined deficit of £655m (€788m) over the next decade.
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NewsUK public sector pensions akin to 'unstable Ponzi' scheme
UK – The existing approach to UK public sector pensions has been compared to an "unstable Ponzi scheme" in an independent report from the Public Sector Pensions Commission.
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News
Lothian moves more equities in-house to make efficiency savings
UK – The £3.2bn (€3.9bn) Lothian Pension Fund has reduced its equity managers by four as it starts to increase the in-house management of its assets as part of its revised investment strategy and to save almost £1m in external management fees.
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NewsMerchant navy scheme to take stake in MN Services
NETHERLANDS – The €3bn pension fund for the Dutch merchant navy has said it will take a stake in pensions provider MN Services.
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NewsIrish managed funds decline further in June
IRELAND – Irish managed funds have declined for the second month in a row as the average fund fell by 1.8% in June.
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NewsGerman occupational schemes using consultants for divorcee rights
GERMANY – The majority of occupational pension schemes (bAVs) in Germany employ external consultants to help calculate pension rights for divorcing couples, Towers Watson has reported.
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NewsUK roundup: ONS, BBC, pension de-risking
UK – A third of UK pensioners rely solely on the state pension in retirement, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics, while the BBC has defended proposed changes to its defined benefit (DB) scheme.
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NewsBA completes £1.3bn buy-in with Rothesay Life
UK – British Airways has completed a £1.3bn (€1.57bn) pension buy-in transaction with Rothesay Life that will cover approximately 20% of the pensioner liabilities of its Airways Pension Scheme (APS).
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NewsABP raises premiums again after cover ratio falls to 96%
NETHERLANDS – The €220bn civil service scheme ABP has again decided to raise its contributions temporarily by 1% to compensate for the drop of its cover ratio to 96%.
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NewsTNO scraps 'disappointing' tactical asset allocation
NETHERLANDS – The €2bn pension fund of TNO, the Dutch Institute for Applied Science, has axed its 2.7% global tactical asset allocation (GTAA) within a year due to "disappointing" performance.
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NewsDiageo pension scheme to plug £860m deficit with whisky
UK/IRELAND – Drinks giant Diageo has announced its UK pension fund will tackle a £862m (€929m) deficit by investing in maturing whisky.
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News
TPR issues first contribution notice against Belgian firm
UK – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued its first contribution notice, ordering Michel Van De Wiele NV (VDW) to pay £5m (€6.2m) into the Bonas Group Pension Scheme.
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News
German pension liabilities set to surge as BilMoG takes effect
GERMANY - German pension liabilities are set to increase by up to 30% by the end of the year as new accounting regulations take effect.
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News
BBC to close scheme to new members as deficit hits £2bn
UK – The BBC has initiated a three month consultation on changes to its £8.23bn (€10.16bn) defined benefit (DB) pension scheme following a deficit increase to around £2bn in 2009 from £470m in 2008.
