Defined benefits may soon disappear

By Mohamed Ali Bernat The Association of Consulting Actuaries has accused Government of fostering a pensions environment that will lead to the end of occupational pensions. In a discussion paper entitled Apocalypse Now? the association said employers are being driven from providing occupational pensions by increasing compliance costs, resulting in a reduction of overall benefits for staff. The paper also notes a worrying and general lack of confidence that any new pensions structure will remain in place for any length of time and describes the Minimum Funding Requirement (MFR) as bein...