Corporate sponsors of UK defined benefit schemes have spent the past few years watching their funding positions improve - sometimes dramatically. Elevated gilt yields have done much of the work. But alongside a scheme now sitting in surplus, a significant number of sponsors also have an escrow arrangement that has quietly been accumulating. The instinct is to treat both as part of the same pension story. This is worth examining. The combined capital stack The Surplus Managem

If you're a trustee of a DB scheme in surplus, you're probably being cautious about distribution. That's understandable - it's safer to wait, see what others do, avoid being first-movers. But here's the question: Are you being appropriately cautious because you have a robust framework telling you to wait? Or are you defaulting to inaction because you lack a framework to make confident decisions? There's a crucial difference. Use this checklist to assess which camp you're in.

EXCLUSIVE - White paper introducing a dynamic and strategic Surplus Management Framework to help Trustees and Sponsor navigate the balance between asset distribution and member security.

Traditionally, UK DC pension schemes have focused on investing in daily-traded assets like listed equities and bonds. This focus limited...

Over the years I have worked closely with pension fund chairs and trustee boards in a wide range of situations - from the best of times...