Decisions December 2008

DECISIONS SUPPLEMENT 2008

Pensions and Employee Benefits

Click below for individual articles, or download a full PDF of Financial
Director’s Decisions Supplement 2008 –
Pensions
and Employee Benefits

Pensions Bill:
Not
an option: How changes to the Pensions Bill will affect private schemes

Personal accounts will be a step forward, but compelling companies to contribute
may have unintended consequences

Actuaries:
Love
actuary? It’s tough times ahead for the actuary profession
The actuarial profession is likely to fall out of favour as pension schemes
launch more and more litigation against their advisers

Best practice:
You have been
warned – now is the time to examine DC schemes
Transferring from DB to DC schemes may help shed the financial risk of final
salary, but it will not absolve companies from their responsibility to tell
employees what they are getting into

Volatility:
Safe
haven: Lehmans downfall changes the face of liability-driven investment

The collapse of Lehmans brings a new danger to pension funds: the risk that
counterparties in swap deals could go under overnight. Is there a safe way to do
liability-driven investment?

Longevity:
Work
to live: Increasing longevity and the strain on investment schemes

The fact that we are all living longer is a good thing. But increasing longevity
is putting a strain on investment strategy, forcing trustees to look at their
schemes’ mortality risks in more detail

Transfer values:
Everyone’s
a winner: the best way to transfer out of final salary schemes

Offering transfer packages to high-earning employees in order to reduce final
salary pensions liabilities is dangerous. But get it right and it’s a win-win
situation for all involved