January 2010
'Parent company status could increase PPF levy bill' Kevin Burgess is quoted:
Punter Southall said scheme sponsors should check that D&B has the correct details regarding who the domestic and global ultimate parents are, and then monitor their failure scores in the same way as the scheme sponsor.
Punter Southall senior consultant Kevin Burgess said: "To prevent potentially large levy increases if the PPF's proposals are adopted, companies should take action now to improve the scores of parent companies.
"In the most extreme example, for a scheme where the sponsor currently has a failure score of 100, the levy could increase 100 times if the relevant parent has a low score and the PPF implement their proposals.
"This is just one of several actions that scheme sponsors can take to keep the PPF levy to a minimum, and scheme sponsors should be discussing PPF levies with their advisers now." Professional Pensions Online, 20 January 2010
'Crisis allowed trustees to tap contingent assets' Danny Vassiliades is quoted:
Danny Vassiliades, head of corporate advice at Punter Southall, said these strategies offer a way to secure a scheme’s funding needs, without draining the sponsoring employer’s limited cash reserves.
“The growth in contingent assets reflects the fact that a lot of employers are reticent about putting cash in a scheme that they will never see again.
Lots of companies are trying to keep hold of cash while satisfying their funding obligations by giving trustees a charge over assets,” he said. IPE.com, 19 January 2010
Britain's Pension Provision Threatened With Collapse, David Cule is quoted:
David Cule, principal at Punter Southall, pointed out, This is significantly greater than the quantitative easing package put together, and is on a par with the level of support being put together for the UK banking system. But since the PPF's liabilities represent only some 80 percent to 90 percent of the actual liabilities of the 7,783 private pension schemes in the UK, the shortfall could, in reality, be much higher, at between 350 billion and 400 billion. House Price Crash Online, 4 January 2010
Punter Southall Pensions Bulletin - July 2010