Pension Clicks

In this edition of Pension Clicks, we consider the latest changes to trustee investment duties, look at the secrets of success when navigating new waters with scheme risk reduction and launch our new behavioural research into pension risk settlement.

DWP revises trustees' investment duties
Without consultation, the DWP has published new regulations that amend trustees’ investment duties, starting from October 2020. The new provisions will further extend the requirements for what needs to be included in the statement of investment principles (SIP), and for disclosure of investment policies on an external website.

Navigating new waters in your pension scheme? Get a map!
Karen Gainsford explores the help available for trustees making decisions regarding their scheme’s longevity risk in this article, first published in Pensions Age.

Get a free copy of our new longevity decision-making research
Our latest research explores the behavioural biases that can get in the way of good decisions around longevity risk. Carried out with the behavioural insight agency Behave London, the research report provides a step-by-step guide to navigating pension risk settlement. Email us for your copy.

Focusing on the outcomes
With the minimum contribution rates under automatic enrolment increasing to 8%, Sophia Singleton asks what is needed to enable members to retire when they, and their employer, want. First published in Professional Pensions.

DC and financial wellbeing global employee survey
Read the findings of our global survey, sharing the employee view on DC pensions and overall financial wellbeing.

DB to DC transfers – ensuring quality of advice
Following the introduction of ‘Freedom and Choice’ for DC pensions in April 2015, we have seen increasing numbers of members transfer out of DB schemes to access these new freedoms. How can you ensure your members get the quality advice they need to make informed decisions? Jamil Merali explores in this article, first published in the PMI’s Pensions Aspects magazine.

Guide to Member Options
Chapter 1 of our 2019 Guide to Member Options looks at the resources available to schemes and the activities that can be implemented to drive better member outcomes. View this chapter and register to receive all future chapters directly into your inbox.

Can you meet your cashflows?
As schemes become more mature, cashflow management becomes increasingly important. Trustees need a robust policy on this – our paper explores the options.

Benchmark your approach to responsible investment
Responsible investing – including ESG, impact, socially responsible and mission related investing – is becoming a key focus among pension and other institutional investors. Benchmark your views, approaches and the barriers you face in your RI jourmey by taking part in our second survey on the topic.

View of the World – global real estate investing
Institutional investors throughout the world remain acutely focused on high levels of economic uncertainty. Taken together with the cyclical nature of real estate, many are asking what this means, and where opportunities lie, for their portfolios. Townsend Group’s Prashant Tewari discusses the key themes and outlook for global real estate markets.

What should trustees do about climate change?
Our new paper looks at various climate change scenarios, the risks to trustees, how to address these risks and how to plan for the future.

DB consolidation: what are the opportunities?
Consolidation as a means of achieving better outcomes for pension schemes is a growing trend. But ‘consolidation’ is a broad term; what does it mean in relation to pensions, and what are the issues you need to consider when looking at your options?

Test your scheme’s cyber-resilience
A large proportion of cyber-attacks start out with a phishing email, which is an attempt to trick the recipient into following a link or providing data to the cyber-criminal. We are offering you the chance to test your scheme’s resilience to a potential attack by taking part in a simulated phishing exercise.

Retirement podcast: a focus on professional trusteeship
In this month’s podcast, Victoria Panormo is joined by Nick Brinton to discuss professional trusteeship and the changes afoot. Victoria also discusses developments in the Pensions Dashboard project, takes a look at new DWP regulations amending trustees’ investment duties and discusses other news, including new PASA guidance on cyber-risk and the largest ever bulk annuity transaction.

Risk Settlement Bulletin – June 2019
This month’s Bulletin looks at strategies for segmenting members when planning partial transactions, and shares the latest bulk annuity costs data.

Week in Markets
A summary of market movements over the past week.

Aon celebrates success at the UK Pensions Awards and European Pensions Awards
It was another winning night for Aon at the UK Pensions Awards recently, when we were named Risk Reduction Adviser of the Year.
And then again at the European Pensions Awards, when we won the award for Multi-Asset Manager. Congratulations to both teams!

Aon in the press
This month, our Pension Benefit Design Survey shows an acceleration in scheme closures and we identify the new challenges facing schemes that are fully-funded. We advise Rolls Royce UK Pension Fund on the largest-ever bulk annuity transaction.