News

Find out what’s happening at Sackers. Our News section provides information about recent work, press comment and media coverage, and what our people are doing.

Latest News

TPR’s 2016 funding statement

Introduction TPR has published its annual funding statement for 2016. Although relevant to trustees and employers of all DB pension schemes, it is primarily aimed at those carrying out valuations with effective dates in the period from 22...

Contingent Assets: Basics

Contingent assets are assets held outside a pension scheme which the scheme can claim when one or more specified “trigger” events occur (such as the insolvency of the sponsoring employer). They can be useful for trustees and employers...

Assessing and monitoring the employer covenant: TPR’s new guidance

Introduction TPR has published new guidance on assessing and monitoring the employer covenant of a DB pension scheme. Replacing TPR’s original 2010 guide to “monitoring employer support”, the new guidance is designed to provide...

Buy-ins: Basics

A “buy-in” is simply an annuity held in the trustees’ name.  By contrast a “buy-out” is an annuity held in the member’s name. Buy-ins are simply another scheme investment and are attractive to employers...

Buy-outs: Basics

A buy-out is the bulk purchase of annuities in respect of some (partial) or all (full) of the members of a pension scheme. The difference between a buy-out and a buy-in is that, in the former, the annuities are purchased in the names of...

Schedules of contributions: Basics

The trustees of an occupational DB pension scheme are required to prepare, and from time to time review and if necessary revise, a schedule of contributions. The schedule sets out the rates of the contributions payable to the scheme and...

Scheme funding essentials

The scheme funding provisions contained in the PA04 require trustees to prepare a statement of funding principles (SFP) for ensuring, amongst other things, that the statutory funding objective (SFO) is met. The SFO requires a DB scheme to...