From IDS Pensions Bulletin 203, March 2007

Company news

• Royal Mail to consult on scheme closure
• Marks & Spencer keeps final salary scheme open
• CSC Computer Sciences adapts scheme rules

Regulatory round-up

• ECJ ruling’s implications for the PPF

Administration costs

A survey of 143 occupational pension schemes shows that the administration costs borne by the median scheme was £64.90 per member in 2005 and that for these schemes the weighted average administration cost was £47.10 per member.

Employer contributions rise by a third in a year

Data from the Office of National Statistics show that the total contributions paid by employers to occupational pension schemes increased by 34.4 per cent in the year ending 31 March 2006 compared to the total paid in the previous period ending 31 March 2005. The nine case studies show, however, that year-on-year increases on this scale were not universal.