Pension Firm GP Noble Comes Under The Spotlight
As the pension industry continues to try and come to terms with the massive increase in funding requirements of the last few years we have seen the Pensions Regulator use its emergency powers for the first time to suspend Pension Trustees Company GP Noble from a number of schemes. The execution of the emergency powers was both swift and came as a surprise to many in the industry.
As a consequence of the investigation by the Pensions Regulator, police have arrested three men in connection with alleged irregularities with a number of pension schemes which were due to be revalued over the coming weeks. While no more details were given it seems as though these schemes were part of insolvent groups with the Pension Protection Fund obligated to pick up the cost of any shortfall between the funding requirements and current valuations of the schemes.
The three men arrested were released without charge although enquiries are continuing into the situation with an update expected in due course.
This is just the latest piece of bad news to hit the pension sector at a time when trust is evaporating and more pension schemes than ever before are set to move to underfunded positions. While the Pensions Regulator has acted swiftly in this situation it seems that they may be called into action more and more as the situation in the sector continues to worsen.
Share this..
Related stories
Has inflation peaked at 5.2%?
The latest inflation figures did not make good reading for anyone in the UK and there are concerns in some quarters that the rate could go higher before it falls. However, there is a growing feeling that the rate has actually peaked and should fall back to lower levels in tandem with the price of oil. Which philosophy is correct?
A quick look back over the last 12 months will show...
General Electric plans £99 million wind turbine plant in UK
The UK government is today a little more relieved with regards to "green issues" in the country with news that General Electric will be opening a new £99 million offshore wind turbine plant in the UK. This comes just hours after Alistair Darling used the budget to highlight the ever-growing importance of "green issues" in the UK and the fact that the UK government needs to attract around £100 bi...
Read MoreCI insurance needs customer trust back
The critical illness (CI) insurance industry needs to rebuild consumer trust, claims Defaqto, after finding that consumers have felt let down over the last year.Defaqto says that CI insurers need to pull together as a whole to ensure that the British public can regain trust in the CI industry after a lot of bad PR over failed claims has appeared in the news recently.Although many rejected CI claim...
Read MoreIs Ken Clarke the Tory Party's secret weapon?
At a time when David Cameron needs all the help he can get it is evident that Ken Clarke is coming more to the fore with many party members pushing him forward as a spokesperson on the economy and the spending habits of the Labour Party. Despite the fact that George Osborne is the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer it is noticeable that he has been very quiet on the economy over the last few days....
Read MoreGreek debt problems worse than expected
A report in the financial press today has suggested that Greece will require between EUR100 billion and EUR120 billion over the next three years to repair the damage done by the financial crisis. These figures were made public by German parliamentarians in what is an embarrassment for the European Union which is currently negotiating a EUR45 billion package. It is believed that the EUR45 billio...
Read More