Commenting on The Pensions Regulator's annual statement made today on pension scheme funding, Mark Packham, director and head of pensions at PwC in the West & Wales, said: "The Pensions Regulator has announced some important points in its annual statement today that could make life easier for companies with large...
The Government has announced it will provide the Pensions Regulator (TPR) with a new objective to support scheme funding arrangements that are compatible with sustainable growth for the sponsoring employer. The precise wording of this new objective will be set out in legislation to be published by the Department for...
The Chancellor confirmed that the introduction of the single state pension has been brought forward by one year to start in April 2016. Mark Packham, director in PwC’s pensions team, said: "The simplification of the state pension system is very welcome. Bringing its introduction forward a year to 2016 will...
Spring seminar: a new normal for UK pension funds? We are delighted to announce our next pensions seminar in Bristol. The seminar is aimed at employers and trustees, and will provide an opportunity to look at issues from both points of view, with input from PwC experts. A new normal...
Mark Packham, head of pensions at PwC in the West, said: “The reductions in both the annual allowance and lifetime allowances undermines confidence and trust in pensions. This is a direct blow to the pensions savings culture and could put pressure on the few remaining private sector defined benefit (DB)...
PwC analysis shows that FTSE 350 companies’ ability to support their defined benefit (DB) pension obligations is still far below pre-recession levels and doesn’t appear to be getting any better. According to PwC, the new economic realities of low interest rates and investment returns and high inflation mean scheme deficits...
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has confirmed the reduction in projection rates used by financial institutions when providing benefit projections to pension savers will take effect from 6 April 2014, although firms can comply voluntarily from 6 April 2013. What does this mean? Projection rates are used to estimate how...
Auto enrolment creates specific challenges for ‘exception’ populations such as contractors, agency workers and particularly expatriates, explains Caroline Jones. For those used to dealing with expatriates from a tax perspective, it is often possible to assess their position retrospectively based upon the length of time spent in or outside the...
New PwC projections predict that pension schemes will now need an extra three years to plug their rising deficits, taking the average repayment period to 11 years. Data from a PwC study covering 98 recent defined benefit pension scheme valuations reveals that the recent trend of improving recovery plan lengths...
A new PwC study reveals that FTSE 350 companies’ ability to support their defined benefits (DB) pension obligations is now, on average, only marginally better than at the depths of the recession. Despite considerable action taken by companies to reduce their DB pension scheme deficits, PwC’s new Pensions Support Index...
