Funding – Page 135
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News
Finnish government funds made best of bonds in 2009
FINLAND – Keva, the Local Government Pensions Institution, and VER, the Finnish State Pension Fund, have both shown bonds played a key role in the returns generated from investments in 2009, yet alternatives delivered a mixed result.
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Just one in six UK employees to increase pension contributions
UK – Less than a fifth of employees who already saving in a pension intend to increase their contributions in the next year, according to research from the UK's National Association of Pensions Funds (NAPF).
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Dutch reinsured schemes gain breathing space over recovery plans
NETHERLANDS - Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner has granted Dutch reinsured pension funds additional leeway in the time they have to submit a recovery plan, to help them avoid cuts in pension rights.
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SBB gets CHF1.148bn in state aid
SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government has decided to grant the ailing Swiss federal railways (SBB) Pensionskasse CHF1.148bn (€784.5m) in aid if, in return, the fund drops all demands for a state guarantee on full funding.
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Swedish update: PPM, SAF-LO
SWEDEN - The amount of changes made within pension funds managed by the defined contribution PPM system increased dramatically last year, as 4.5 million changes were made compared to 3.2 million in 2008 - an increase with 41%.
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Norway-Global pension fund delivers record returns
NORWAY – The giant Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global beat its benchmark index by 4.1 percentage points and returned a record 25.6% in 2009 as a result of gains in international equities and fixed income markets.
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Irish funds recover January losses
IRELAND – Irish managed pension funds posted a return of around 1.4% in February, pulling back from a 1.1% loss the previous month, research from consultancy firms has revealed.
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AIB members accept changes to DB scheme
IRELAND/UK – IBOA, the finance trade union, said members working for AIB Group have voted to accept the proposed changes to the defined benefit (DB) and hybrid pension schemes, following a formal ballot.
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NewsEarly-stage investments drag down long-term AP6 returns
SWEDEN - AP6, one of the Swedish national buffer funds, returned 11.3% for the full year 2009, beating the target return by 3.8% and boosting total assets to SEK18.2bn (€1.85bn) . This compares well with 2008 when the fund underperformed by 16.6%.
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Telecom firms reject proposal to plug BT pension deficit
UK - Several UK telecoms companies have attacked proposals which could see them forced to help BT plug a £9bn (€9.92bn) deficit in the defined benefit BT Pension Scheme (BTPS).
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Royal Mail deficit payments could near £1bn
[16:50 CET 29-01] UK – Trade unions have called on the government to take action on the Royal Mail Pension Plan's (RMPP) estimated £10bn (€11.6bn) deficit, as it argued future deficit repayments by the company could triple to almost a £1bn following the latest triennial valuation.
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One in four Swiss plans are underfunded – Swisscanto
[15:45 CET 29-01] SWITZERLAND – A survey of over 400 Swiss pension funds conducted by Swisscanto has found two-thirds of public schemes and 20% of private plans were underfunded at the end of 2009.
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Dutch pensions giants see returns improve further
[15:20 CET 28-01] NETHERLANDS - The €86bn healthcare scheme PFZW and the €33bn metal pension fund PMT saw their investments return 4.2% and 2.5% respectively in the fourth quarter, leading the schemes to deliver overall results of 17.6% and 14.8% for 2009.
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News
Quoted equities boost Etera fund value in 2009
[17:15 CET 27-01] FINLAND – Better than anticipated sales of pensions and a positive performance in listed equities saw Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company increase the value of its assets by around €300m in 2009.
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Pension transfers and equities boost Finnish providers
[16:55 CET 26-01] FINLAND – A €37m increase in insurance transfers under the Employees Pensions Act (TyEL) and a large position in Finnish equities helped improve the position of Veritas in 2009.
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Irish Ombudsman sees leap in fund value complaints
[16:45 CET 26-01] IRELAND – Complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman about pension fund values increased by 71% from 2008, and many of these were related to investor concerns about fund values.
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Strong return raises SPMS cover ratio by 20%
[17:00 CET 25-01] NETHERLANDS - The €5bn pension fund for medical consultants SPMS saw its cover ratio rise by almost 20 percentage points last year on the back of a 17% return.
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Luzern moves one step closer to pension recovery
[16:30 CET 25-01] SWITZERLAND – An advisory body to the regional parliament of the canton of Luzern has recommended officials approve proposed pensions recovery measures but introduce a time limit in which this must be achieved.
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Equities and hedge funds boost Finland’s Fennia
[15:00 CET 25-01] FINLAND – Preliminary results for Pension Fennia, one of the largest pension insurance providers in Finland, revealed equities returned a massive 33.7% on investments while hedge funds delivered 16.4% in 2009.
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Bank of Ireland reviews DB scheme over €1.5bn deficit
[16:15 CET 22-01] IRELAND – The Bank of Ireland (BOI) – one of two banks benefiting from the recapitalisation by the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) - has confirmed it is in the early stages of a review of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.
