In a momentous year for pensions there were many important news stories. Here's our top ten.
1. Budget 2014: Osborne removes restrictions on pensions access.
With the biggest changes to the industry in a generation it should come as no surprise that George Osborne's Budget bonanza was the most read story of the year.
2. Why Europe should listen
This may not be an actual news story but editor in chief Jonathan Stapleton's call for the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority to listen to the UK pensions industry certainly got you all clicking. This is a leader from 2012 but this is an issue that will run and run.
3. Budget 2014: Government to ban public sector pensions transfers to DC pots
This issue of DB to DC transfers was a big one post Budget. However, the government moved quickly to ban public sector pension transfers to DC. We will wait and see how many private sector employees look to take up this freedom come April 2015.
4. High Court rules IBM breached good faith over scheme closure
In April the High Court ruled that IBM did breach its duty of good faith to members in closing its defined benefit (DB) schemes.
The judgment from Mr Justice Warren found the UK subsidiary of the multinational computing business had not met its legal responsibilities towards members when it closed the schemes to future accrual and implemented a restrictive early retirement policy.
The court also found IBM UK misled members during the consultation process prior to closure.
5. Freedom and Choice consultation: The four key points in full
The details of the Budget and what it means for the industry was a popular story among our readers.
6. DWP confirms 0.75% charge cap for DC auto-enrolment schemes
A central part of pension minister Steve Webb's programme to build value for money pension schemes, the DC charge cap divided the industry. Whether it succeeds in delivering value for money or acts as a brake on innovation remains to be seen.
7. DB-DC transfers allowed under new retirement regime
While the government was quick to rule out DB-DC transfers in public sector schemes the industry was left on tenterhooks as to whether the practice would be allowed in the private sector.
In July it was finally confirmed that this practice would be allowed subject to the individual taking independent financial advice.
8. Budget 2014: Flat rate state pension top-up scheme to raise £850m
In March it was announced a scheme allowing pensioners to top up their flat-rate state pension through voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs) was expected to raise £850m over two years.
People reaching 65 before the flat-rate state pension takes effect on 6 April 2016 will be able to buy credits "at an actuarially fair" price, boosting their payments by a maximum £25 a week, HM Treasury's Budget 2014 document confirmed.
The scheme will run for 18 months from October 2015. HM Treasury's predicts it will bring £415m into the exchequer in 2015/2016, with a further £435m expected in 2016/2017.
9. Investment consultant advice loses LGPS £62bn in ten years
Startling research by Clerus released in November showed Local Government Pension Schemes would have been better off if they had left their portfolios untouched for the last decade instead of listening to investment consultants.
The research discovered schemes that had no investment consultant outperformed those that did by an average of between 0.8 and 1.1 percentage points a year from 2003 to 2013.
The firm said that if schemes had not changed their portfolios since 2003 they would have seen average annual returns of 9.7%, while those that used a major investment consultant achieved between 8.6% and 8.9% on average.
10. High Court confirms right of schemes to switch to CPI
In July a High Court judge upheld the right of schemes to use the consumer prices index (CPI) as the inflation measure for increasing deferred pensions and pensions in payment.
In a judgment handed down in the High Court Chancery Division Justice Newey ruled that the sponsor and trustees of two Arcadia Group schemes could make the switch from the retail prices index (RPI).
The court found the definition of "retail prices index" in each scheme's rules gave room to select an alternative index, and that CPI was a suitable alternative.
Newey also ruled that switching indices did not contravene Section 67 of the Pensions Act 1995, which prevents schemes from making changes that adversely affect members' subsisting rights.
