Press Releases

“It is great to see the Multi-Employer CDC Regulations announced today, following the launch of the Royal Mail scheme yesterday. Multi-employer CDC will be critical for the growth and accessibility of CDC to savers across the UK. Today’s announcement is a great step forward in its development and showcases the commitment of the new Labour government by pressing ahead with this initiative."

“The launch of the Royal Mail CDC scheme is a highly significant milestone for the pensions industry. Delivering a brand-new type of pension scheme has taken a sustained effort from everyone involved, innovation on this scale is hard. CDC provides great value by delivering higher pensions for lots of savers alongside increased certainty their pension won’t run out in retirement, which is desperately needed."

“Every DB pension scheme will have its own journey but taking a holistic approach to data improvement and working towards an ‘accurate all the time’ data set will benefit the scheme’s progression towards their chosen endgame. This will allow for a smoother transition, and increased flexibility as all end game options can be explored with the knowledge that the data is accurate and correct. Our five-stage approach, as outlined in our paper is key to getting data into this position, and provides insights to ensure that data monitoring is seen to be an ongoing task for DB schemes as they continue their journey to endgame – which, for most, will include compliance with the Pensions Dashboards requirements along the way.”

Hymans Robertson’s 2024 National Knowledge Assessment (NKA) is now open for LGPS funds to access. LGPS funds across the UK can now take the assessment to get unique training insights and benchmark the knowledge and skills of their Committee and Board. On completing the assessment, funds will be able to evidence that they’re meeting the requirements of the Pensions Regulator's General Code of Practice through assessment and reporting on the knowledge and skills of their Committee and Board members. They will also be able to identify future training needs.   

Nearly a third (30%) of companies believe that planning for the future, and their scheme’s endgame, is their number one DB priority over the next few years, according to research from Hymans Robertson.  As it releases its latest paper, the firm warns that companies could be at risk of a sub-optimal endgame strategy if they don’t engage with their scheme trustees. Results from a recent webinar confirmed this, with nearly half (40%) of the attendees believing that sponsor opinion is the main driving factor when choosing endgame strategy.

Hymans Robertson has welcomed two new hires to the firm’s Birmingham office, further growing the expertise of the Buy-out and wind-up transition services team within the firm. Donna Prince and Nafisha Chowdhury join the leading pensions and financial services consultancy at a time when 2024 buy-in and buy-out volumes have reached record highs. 

"We support the government focus on how more DC pensions investment can be deployed in the UK. Increased investment in UK opportunities through listed or illiquid investments could potentially deliver improved returns and outcomes for DC members...

“With the regulations and funding code going live for valuations, at last we know how TPR intends the statement of strategy to operate...

DB Trustees at buy-out stage, using insurers’ net zero targets to help them identify a partner, should focus on a firm’s performance against their interim emissions targets, says Hymans Robertson, as it launches its latest Risk Transfer ESG annual report – Insurers move towards net-zero goals on investment portfolios. Almost all firms say they aim to reach net zero by 2050. Therefore, a focus on interim emissions enables Trustees to better differentiate between firms and reduce the risk of choosing a partner that leaves them at risk of failing to meet their fiduciary duties, warns the leading pensions and financial services firm. 

“The Bank of England held interest rates today at 5% pa today, but we believe the MPC will cut rates again this year. Given elevated core and services inflation we still Expect the BoE to reduce rates at a gradual pace. Looking further ahead the market is already pricing a fair degree of further cuts, anticipating the bank rate to fall to 3.3% pa by the end of 2025...

Bold and innovative thinking on Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) that leverages intergenerational risk sharing would help to solve the issue of poor retirement incomes, claims Hymans Robertson in a new paper published today Intergenerational risk sharing: it’s dynamite!. The analysis shows that risk sharing could provide an uplift in income by as much as 50% from a traditional DC plan, through the opportunity to invest in higher growth assets and the pooling of longevity risk, both of which the intergenerational risk sharing element of CDC enables.

"The markets and economists expect the Bank of England to keep rates on hold at its meeting on 19 September, with a cut in November, and possibly also in December looking more likely...