- a transfer exercise, offering members the opportunity to transfer their scheme benefits to an alternative arrangement via an incentive in the form of an increased transfer value, or sometimes a cash payment; or
- a pension increase swap exercise, where members give up future pension increases in return for a higher initial pension.
Developments in de-risking and the importance of data
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I came across an interesting panel discussion in the current issue of Engaged Investor Magazine, where a number of industry experts were asked for their views on developments in pension scheme de-risking. My views on the questions addressed are as follows:
Q1 - Many companies are not able to carry out full buyout in one go. What multi-layered approaches can they take to de-risk their schemes?
The most important first step is for the employer and trustees to agree a common goal for the scheme. In almost all cases (especially closed schemes), the ultimate goal should be to secure all benefits with an insurance company and wind-up the scheme.
An agreed, transparent objective will then set the path towards the ultimate goal. There are many alternative partial de-risking measures that can be taken, most of which can work in parallel. These include employer led exercises such as: