THE GOVERNMENT PRESENTED defined-benefit (DB) schemes with another problem when Angela Eagle, the Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society, made a short parliamentary statement1 announcing that all contracted- out schemes must make provision for the equalisation of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs). The issue has been bubbling under since the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) raised the matter in respect of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

FOLLOWING A DISAPPOINTING response to its guidance on recordkeeping (OP, February 2009), the Pensions Regulator has decided to require all schemes to maintain high-quality standards of data. It has published a consultation paper1 setting out standards for maintaining member records and requiring schemes that fall short of these standards to take steps to improve their performance. The consultation, which closes on 27 April 2010, focuses on:

THE Investment Governance Group (IGG) has published a consultation paper1 on investment governance principles and best practice guidance for workbased defined-contribution (DC) pension schemes. The proposals are intended to apply to both trust-based and contractbased DC plans. The consultation closes on 5 May 2010.

AN ANALYSIS OF pensioner poverty by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that, although retired householders’ income is still lower than that of non-retired householders, their position has improved over the past three decades. The proportion of retired householders in the bottom income quintile (20% band) for the whole population has fallen from 56% in 1977 to 39% in 2007/08.