Law & Regulation

The Principles for Responsible Investment has fleshed out the details of the mandatory elements of its revised reporting framework, as it attempts to “demystify” the process ahead of its rollout later this year.

The £8.8bn West Yorkshire Pension Fund has kicked off plans for a series of roadshows later this year to communicate to its almost 100,000 active members changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

News analysis: The Pensions Regulator’s 2013 annual funding statement has set out the flexibilities open to schemes in the tough economic climate, but pension professionals have said those carrying out valuations this year could find the process challenging.

Pension professionals have welcomed plans for the government to legislate on further minimum standards for auto-enrolment to ensure schemes meet quality benchmarks.

United Utilities has set up a special risk management group to deal with the impact of changes to the state pension due in 2016, and has warned schemes not to ignore the upcoming reform.

The Pension Protection Fund has called upon schemes to report investments according to their characteristics rather than underlying securities, after professionals raised the prospect of different readings of its guidance reducing scheme levies.

News analysis: A scheme member has received a pension of £14,760 instead of £49,169 as he did not transfer his benefits to an annuity provider before his 75th birthday, in a unique case highlighting the importance of pre-retirement communication.

Pension professionals have welcomed today's Work and Pensions Select Committee proposal for the government to establish a single regulator for workplace pensions.

Schemes receiving suspicious transfer requests are struggling to balance their duty to act in members’ interests against taking all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves about a receiving scheme, experts have said.

News analysis: Employers are still pressuring schemes over an RPI/CPI switch, leaving them caught between the sponsor's need to reduce deficits and member concerns about the value of their retirement income.