The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has added three new guides to the popular Made Simple series today (Thursday) to help pension fund managers, trustees and anyone involved in pensions understand technical subjects.
Professional At Retirement Advice and Guidance Services, Emerging Markets and Scheme Funding Made Simple Guides are being launched at the NAPF Annual Conference in Manchester.
Professional At Retirement Advice and Guidance Services
Professional At Retirement Advice and Guidance Made Simple is written by ASPIRE to retire and Punter Southall. It aims to help employers and trustees put effective support and advice services in place, so that they can help their scheme members with difficult, life-changing, one-off decisions around annuities and income drawdown as they approach retirement. The guide emphasises the importance of helping members to shop around and provides tips on how to go about appointing an adviser or broker. It is primarily aimed at DC schemes but may also be relevant to defined benefit (DB) arrangements that are looking to offer members advice.
Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, said:
“We believe passionately that after many years of saving, people should get support to help them shop around for the best possible outcome at retirement. Without that support, retiring members are at risk of making poor choices that could see them lose thousands of pounds over the course of their retirement. This Guide explains how by appointing an adviser or broker, trustees and employers can ensure this doesn’t happen.”
Paul Johnston, Managing Director, Punter Southall DC Consulting, added:
“We have written this Guide to help trustees and employers understand the benefits of professional retirement services and the essential components to improve their scheme member outcomes.”
Rob Tinsley, ASPIRE to retire Principal, said:
“Those approaching retirement are facing a challenging time. With people living for longer than ever before, annuity rates at low levels and a plethora of retirement solutions available, retiring scheme members need to be given sufficient information and guidance to ensure they are fully aware of their options and are able to make well-informed decisions.”
Emerging Markets Made Simple
The Emerging Markets Made Simple Guide gives an overview of emerging markets and provides practical insight into the key responsibilities of pension schemes and their trustees. Sponsored by HSBC Global Asset Management, it highlights the valuable benefits this asset class can offer a pension portfolio. It suggests key features schemes and what trustees should look for in an investment in emerging market assets, and the types of investment that may be considered.
Emerging markets are characterised by strong demographics, relatively low correlations with many developed markets and healthy balance sheets. As a result, emerging market economies are well positioned to provide sustainably higher risk-adjusted returns for investors in the long-term, compared to developed market economies.
Ms Segars said:
“In an environment of low yielding assets and increasing volatility, emerging markets can offer attractive diversification benefits to a pension portfolio and access to attractive yields. This Guide will be an invaluable help.”
Andy Clark, CEO, UK, HSBC Global Asset Management, added:
“We understand the concerns investors have when looking at emerging markets for the first time and have looked to address these and also highlight the valuable benefits this asset class can offer a pension portfolio.”
Scheme Funding Made Simple
Scheme Funding Made Simple is sponsored by Capita Employee Benefits and is aimed at trustees who are relatively new to the challenges around DB funding arrangements and the processes around scheme funding valuations. The guide clarifies the timetables for carrying out reviews of funding arrangements, explains the role of the scheme actuary, trustees and the employer, and sets out the assumptions that need to be agreed.
Ms Segars said:
“Conducting a scheme funding valuation can be a daunting process for trustees, particularly in the current economic climate. This guide helps them to understand basics before they enter a valuation for the first time.”
Kenneth Donaldson, Capita, Head of Actuarial Consulting said:
“Scheme funding issues can and do have real consequences for employees, for companies and for the health of society at large. Scheme funding is a complicated and technical topic, but this Made Simple guide explains the principles in clear English. It is designed to help trustees and employers navigate their way through their own scheme funding issues.
Every day Capita helps its clients, whether trustees or employers, deal with their own scheme funding arrangements. Capita has helped in the preparation of this guide, and we hope that readers of the guide will benefit from our experiences and expertise.”
Notes to editors:
1. The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,300 pension schemes with some 16 million members and assets of around £900 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.
2. The Made Simple Guides are being launched at the NAPFs Annual Conference & Exhibition on 17th October at 6pm, stand location 320, Central 1.
3. Each Made Simple Guide (hard copy) costs £18 for NAPF members and £35 for non-members. It can be ordered online at www.napf.co.uk
Contacts:
Dee Sullivan, Head of Media and PR, (interim), 020 7601 1717 or 07917 506 683, [email protected]
Aimee Savage Richards, Press Officer (interim), 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]
ASPIRE to retire
Rob Tinsley
Principal
07879805668/ 01227 844552
[email protected]
Kent Enterprise House, The Links
Herne Bay, Kent
www.aspiretoretire.co.uk
HSBC
Anita DeMots
Manager, Institutional Client Propositions
HSBC Global Asset Management
78 St James Street, London, SW1A 1JB,
020 7024 0422
[email protected]
Capita
Louisa Robins
Marketing Consultant Employee Benefits
Capita, 1 Aldgate, London, EC3N 1LP
020 7709 4671
[email protected]