NAPF launches specialist service for financial professionals

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Wednesday, 06, Aug 2008 12:00

The NAPF has today launched FD PensionsConnection, a new specialist service aimed at providing information and support to financial professionals involved in their organisation’s workplace pension. Pension issues ranging from deficits, rising liabilities, buyouts, conflicts of interest and the impact of pensions on corporate activity will be covered.

The new service, free for a year, will give financial professionals direct access to the latest developments and thinking on pensions, as well as providing a network where the impact of pensions can be discussed. Membership benefits include:-

• Quarterly newsletters – featuring latest news, views and interviews.

• Speaker evenings – where members can hear from leading professionals.

• A specialist website – including online polls, surveys and a discussion forum.

• Free subscriptions to NAPFnews and PolicyWatch.

• A free place at the 2008 NAPF Annual Conference and Exhibition which includes a programme stream for company finance professionals.

Membership of FD PensionsConnection is open to anyone in an organisation who is involved in pensions in a financial capacity. The organisation does not have to be a NAPF member. Join at www.napf.co.uk/fdconnection

Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, said: “The last decade has seen workplace pension issues filling the in-trays of the finance community as never before and this new service is designed to help them keep on top of it all.

“FD PensionsConnection is part of the NAPF’s aim to offer a broader range of specialist services to different sectors of the industry as the scope of workplace pensions is becoming more complex by the year.”

NAPF and ICAEW Survey

The extent to which finance directors (FDs) were concerned about pensions was revealed in joint research1 issued today by the NAPF and the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales (ICAEW)2,3. This showed that whilst FDs believed that pensions remained an important

part of the employment package, pensions were also the cause of corporate headaches:

• For FDs operating defined benefit schemes, the main concerns were the prospect that the company might have to make up the shortfall in the scheme, the unknown cost of pension liabilities and their volatility on the company balance sheet.

• Over the next 10 years, FDs expected to see a further decline in defined benefit (DB) provision and employer engagement.

• Changes FDs would consider if their DB funding position improved included encouraging a more cautious investment strategy (68%) and buying out all or some of the liabilities (57%). Only 9% would improve scheme benefits.

• For FDs operating Defined Contribution (DC) schemes, the main concern was that the pension might not be adequate when employees retire.

Joanne Segars, added: “Finance Directors are clearly committed to providing a good workplace pension for the employees of their organisation, but the pressure is mounting to make sure schemes are more manageable for the employer. There is a wide spectrum of changes being considered which means the pensions landscape will continue to evolve at a rate of knots.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

1. The report : Finance Directors and Pensions : A View from the Boardroom is available

http://www.napf.co.uk/DocumentArchive/Policy/Surveys/FD%20Survey%20July%202008.pdf.

NAPF and ICAEW commissioned Network Research to carry out 200 telephone interviews with ICAEW “members in business” – i.e. qualified chartered accountants working in-house rather than for accounting practices that service a number of clients. Most respondents were Finance

Directors or had similar titles (e.g. Vice President – Finance or Group Head of Finance). A few occupied other senior positions, including Managing Directors and Directors of Operations.

The sample was selected to exclude organisations with less than 50 employees. Almost half of respondents worked for organisations with between 51 and 250 employees. More than one quarter worked for organisations employing in excess of 1,000 people. 42% had a defined benefit scheme, but only 8% offered defined benefit pensions to all new staff. Most provided contract-based defined contribution pensions for new employees, with higher contribution rates than the forthcoming 3% minimum.

2. As a world leading professional accountancy body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) provides leadership and practical support to over 130,000 members in more than 160 countries, working with Government, regulators and industry in order to ensure the

highest standards are maintained.

Its members provide financial knowledge and guidance based on the highest technical and ethical standards. They are trained to challenge people and organisations to think and act differently, to provide clarity and rigour, and so help create and sustain prosperity. The ICAEW ensures these skills are constantly developed, recognised and valued.

Because of the ICAEW, people can do business with confidence.

3. The ICAEW is a founding member of the Global Accounting Alliance with over 700,000 members worldwide.

About The National Association of Pension Funds

The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,200 pension schemes with some 15 million members and assets of around £800 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.

Journalists requiring further information, please contact

Mark Brooks 020 7808 1312 mark.brooks@napf.co.uk 07917 506683

Ruth Wharram 020 7808 1345 ruth.wharram@napf.co.uk 07825 171446