Political Parties Pension Election Manifestos:
Ahead of the general election next week, we extracted some of the main pension issues highlighted in the various parties manifestos. Click here to view.

IAPF Investment Topics:
We have produced three more Investment Topics for Trustees.

• ESG Investing
• Currency Hedging
• Pension Fund Risks

These can be accessed on the Information Library section of our website here .

IORPS Directive Update:
The ECON committee in the European Parliament voted on 25 January 2016 on the proposed amendments to the IORP Directive. Some of the notable changes to previous versions include:

• The requirement for DC schemes to appoint a ‘depositary’ (custodian), is now modified in a way that when there is already a depository appointed (for example, by the investment manager) the IORP does not need to appoint another depository
• There is a strong recognition of the role of social partners and the IORP’s social function
• The report removes the requirement for trustees to have ‘professional qualifications’. Trustee boards’ knowledge and experience will be assessed ‘collectively’
• The Pension Benefit Statement has been simplified – 14 articles being replaced by just one, leaving a higher-level requirement for a PBS that covers the basic information (identification of the IORP, projections, accumulated entitlements, contributions, past performance, indication of risks borne by the member under best estimate scenario and plausible worst case scenario, costs and investments)
• A review of the Directive will be required six years after entry into force (four in the EC proposal). This review shall in particular consider: adequacy of the directive, cross-border activity, the experience acquired in applying this directive, quantitative requirements applicable to institutions, the PBS
• Member States will be required to implement the new Directive 18 months after its entry into force
• Member States will be able to exempt IORPS with less than 100 members or with technical provisions of less than €25m from the requirements of the Directive.

The Parliament, Council and Commission will now go into trilogue to find a common position, with trilogues planned for each month until May in order to agree a finalised text. A link to the Report of the ECON Committee can be accessed here.

Pensions Authority DC Codes of Governance:

The Pensions Authority recently published their first 3 Codes of Governance for DC Schemes which can be accessed here .

IAPF Council:
Nomination forms for IAPF Council were recently issued to IAPF member representatives. If you have an interest in being nominated to IAPF Council you need to contact the IAPF representative in your organisation and seek a proposer and seconder for the nomination form. The closing date for receipt of nominations is Monday 29th February.

IAPF Events:
IAPF DC Breakfast Briefing | Default v Investment Choice | 3rd March 2016 | Chartered Accountants House

This breakfast briefing will explore the main investment questions Trustees of DC Schemes face; Why have investment choice?  80% of members in the default fund - good or bad? Should the strategy differ the closer you are to retirement? What is best practice for building member communications in relation to investment choice and engagement?

Click here to book your place.