|  Member associations of the OPA now receive the news from the press on occupational pensions issues through a closed Google mailing group.
Other News
"OPA has weighed in the call for the government to honour its commitment to introducing 50% member-nominated trustees. It believes there would be no shortage of candidates for extra trustees from the recently retired." Pensions Week 4/8/08
The plain English guide to the Act produced by CMS Cameron McKenna has been updated and is available here.
Government launches a consultation on Conditional Indexation (06/06/08)
Big Change in State Pensions - Paul Lewis explains what the changes mean for your State Pension. (Saga, May '08)
Co-op workers face 70% contribution hike. OPA executive officer Roger Turner said: "For the company not to increase its contribution levels but ask for employees to pay these well above average levels is completely immoral. (06/06/08)
EMI Pension Fund trustees have asked TPR to use its "failure to agree" powers under the 2004 Pensions Act to impose a solution on both the trustees and the private equity investor, Terra Firma. This will be the first occasion in which these powers have been used. (01/05/08)
OPA slams TPR's Corporate Plan for failing to police its Codes of Practice. (01/05/08)
ONS report Pension Trends reveals that around two thirds of pensioner households receive private pension income in 2005/06, but 40 per cent of pensioner couples,
55 per cent of single men and 61 per cent of single women pensioners have annual private pension income of less than £1,000. And yet most current employees expect to retire on half their salary. (15/04/08)
Pension funds are at risk from takeovers by unregulated insurers such as the Pension Corporation which are not covered either by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme or the PPF. Unite, the UK's largest labour union, is pressing the government to enact laws to stop investors making short- term gains by taking assets from the pension schemes of companies they acquire. More.. (3/04/08)
New help for people who lost savings when their employer-sponsored pension schemes collapsed. Young Review published. (17/12/07) Total cost for the compensation package now £2.9bn. Contrast this with Tony Blair's claim almost 2 years ago that it would cost £15bn. See summary at "A pension scandal worse than Maxwells".
Betrayal of Deferred Pensioners: There is to be a reduction in the cap on the revaluation of future accruals of deferred pensions from 5% to 2.5%. (5/12/07)
Trust and confidence in pensions and pension providers - a DWP survey of those who are not retired to gauge the levels of trust the public has in pensions and pension providers. 51% of respondents do not trust the Government; less than half this number do not trust their employer. We're not surprised! (18/10/07)
DB Pensions hurting profits: John Cridland, CBI Director General, complains that DB schemes top-ups amounting to £3bn last year are hurting profits. Has he forgotten already how profits were boosted in the late 90s when companies took out £18bn (according to Inland Revenue figures) from the pension funds by taking "pension holidays"? (8/10/07)
Roger Turner has been appointed in his capacity as the Executive Officer of the OPA to the Financial Reporting Council’s Stakeholder Interests Working Group
See also:
Archived News Items
Pensions News Sources
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