Barnett Waddingham runs a series of free seminars on current pension topics for its clients and friends. This document sets out the topics that were covered in our 2003/4 seminar programme.
Summaries of the Seminars 2003/04
September
The Government was proposing to make major changes in order to improve the security of members' benefits in final salary pension schemes. The government also proposed to introduce a "Pensions Protection Fund." Greater security was to be welcomed but encouragement and incentives were also needed. Here at Barnett Waddingham we were hoping for a bit more carrot and a little less stick!
October
How should actuaries measure pension scheme liabilities? As always, the answer depends on what question is being asked! This seminar outlined the major implications for pension scheme funding and future economic prosperity.
November - Postponed until January/February
The Inland Revenue had proposed some radical reforms to the pensions tax regime, but some of the responses were seen as even more radical. The Revenue had consulted but was it willing to listen to the industry's response? Was the "devil in the detail"?
January
It had been reported widely that improvements in longevity were marked. That was, of course, good news but it did have consequences for all pension schemes. At this seminar, these consequences were discussed.
February
Without the benefit of 20-20 hindsight how should pension scheme trustees invest their scheme's assets? "Buying at the bottom of the market and selling at the top" is easier said than done. Although we often remind clients that we don't have crystal balls, at this seminar, Barnett Waddingham peered into the future to see what lay in store.
March
2003 was another year of major upheaval for occupational pension schemes. Scheme design was changing - there were new ideas (and some good old ones) which could provide valuable benefits at an affordable cost.
April
The objective of pension scheme administration is straightforward - making sure that members' benefits are paid correctly and on time. Achieving this objective requires quality, controls and efficiency from both systems and staff. At the end of all this, the benefits need to be communicated clearly and simply so that individual members can understand and appreciate them. The best way to do all this was discussed at the seminar.
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Barnett Waddingham, August 2003.