Funding – Page 154

  • News

    Poland contributes cash as pensions rise

    2009-05-18T14:45:00Z

    POLAND – Polish pension funds rose in value by 5.7% last month, following improved performance for the second consecutive month in a row along with fresh cash contributions from the government – the first to be made since 2003.

  • News

    Buy-in security 'helps credibility'

    2009-05-15T16:15:00Z

    [17:15 CEST 15-05] UK – Over 90% of trustees and industry professionals believe insurance companies do not always need to offer additional security in pension-buy-in transactions, although it improves their credibility if they do so, Hewitt Associates has revealed.

  • News

    Croatian funds back in positive territory

    2009-05-15T15:00:00Z

    CROATIA – Croatia’s four pension fund companies collectively lost 0.9% on investments in the first quarter, but data reveals they are back in positive territory now.

  • News

    Pensions Board grants DB schemes further reprieve

    2009-05-14T15:40:00Z

    [16:40 CEST 14-05] IRELAND – The Pensions Board has further extended the deadline by which defined benefit (DB) schemes must file funding proposals for approval, following the introduction of new measures for DB schemes announced by the government last month.

  • News

    Swiss funds see long-term returns erased

    2009-05-14T15:25:00Z

    [16:25 CEST 14-05] SWITZERLAND – Swiss Pensionskassen have now returned virtually nothing from their investments in the last eight years, Swisscanto found in its latest research.

  • News

    Provisum kept cover ratio afloat

    2009-05-14T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 14-05] NETHERLANDS - Provisum, the €900m pension fund of retailer C&A, managed to sustain a cover ratio of over 120% by the end of last year, thanks mainly to its comfortable starting position.

  • News

    Royal Mail pension deficit nears £7bn

    2009-05-14T15:00:00Z

    [16:00 CEST 14-05] UK – Royal Mail Group has revealed the deficit in its £20bn (€22.3bn) pension scheme has more than doubled over the year to £6.77bn at the end of March 2009.

  • News

    BT told to delay actuarial valuation results

    2009-05-14T14:45:00Z

    [15:45 CEST 14-05] UK – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has asked BT and trustees of the £29.3bn (€32.6bn) BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) not to finalise or disclose the results of the latest triennial valuation until TPR has completed discussions regarding the basis of the valuation.

  • News

    Slovak funds grow 0.5%

    2009-05-13T16:15:00Z

    SLOVAKIA – The six pension fund companies managing mandatory funds for Slovakia’s second pillar posted a positive return for the first quarter of 2009.

  • News

    KPN to step up risk after 14.5% loss

    2009-05-13T15:20:00Z

    [16:20 CEST 13-05] NETHERLANDS - The €3.6bn pension fund of telecoms provider KPN limited its loss in 2008 to 14.5% as a result of a 70%-hedge on its interest rate risk, but officials have plans to increase its alpha risk this year.

  • News

    Improved equity returns cut DB deficit by £50bn

    2009-05-12T15:50:00Z

    [16:50 CEST 12-05] UK – The aggregate funding position of around 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes improved by more than £50bn in April, to a deficit of £188.5bn (€211bn) by the end of the month.

  • News

    Signs of recovery on the horizon, for some?

    2009-05-12T15:45:00Z

    [16:45 CEST 12-05] AUSTRIA – Improved investment returns in April have helped Austrian pensionskassen to turn their performance into positive figures for the first time this year.

  • News

    ABP comes close to 100% again

    2009-05-12T11:00:00Z

    [12:00 CEST 12-05] NETHERLANDS - The funding ratio of ABP, the largest Dutch pension fund for civil servants, is hovering in the region of 95% to 100%, Harry Borghouts, interim president, said yesterday at the presentation of ABP’s annual report.

  • News

    German investors keep a level pensions head

    2009-05-11T16:30:00Z

    [17:30 CEST 11-05] GERMANY – Germans have continued to save for their retirement during the crisis and faith in the state pension has only increased slightly, suggests a regular study conducted by JP Morgan Asset Management.

  • News

    IAA deficit almost trebles in 2008

    2009-05-11T16:25:00Z

    [17:25 CEST 11-05] IRELAND – The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has admitted its pension deficit is the "most significant challenge" to its finances in 2009, as its pension shortfall has almost trebled to €146.6m in 2008.

  • News

    Pension reforms to lessen gov’t spending, initially

    2009-05-11T14:30:00Z

    [15:30 CEST 11-05] EUROPE – Just as many governments are now trying to rectify potential future shortfalls in retirement income, the European Commission has found the anticipated higher costs on domestic budgets will be at their lowest among some countries over the next decade before rising again in later years.

  • News

    Swiss home bias pays off long-term

    2009-05-08T16:20:00Z

    [17:20 CEST 08-05] SWITZERLAND – Only Swiss bonds and Swiss real estate contributed positively to the performance of local pension funds last year but Swiss assets are a major contributor to long-term performance, a study by Lusenti has found.

  • News

    Cover ratios pull up to 100%

    2009-05-08T15:30:00Z

    [16:30 CEST 08-05] NETHERLANDS - The cover ratio of the Netherlands’ 650 pension funds seems to be stabilising at approximately 100% on average, consultancy firm Hewitt Associates has claimed.

  • News

    Study: big not always beautiful for pensions

    2009-05-08T15:15:00Z

    [16:15 CEST 08-05] NETHERLANDS - It is generally accepted that small pension funds perform less well than their bigger brothers, but economies of scale can also work the other way around, suggests a new study conducted in the Netherlands.

  • News

    Romania to look at pension reserve fund and life-cycling (updated)

    2009-05-07T16:15:00Z

    ROMANIA – Pension fund companies in Romania will soon have to pay into a general reserve fund and they are likely to introduce the life-cycle model in their funds from 2010, according to the pensions regulator.