Archive for December, 2009

Data protection, and the great penguin heist

Tuesday, 22 December 2009

You would be forgiven for wondering what the kidnap of a penguin and data protection have in common.

At the NAPF conference the other week I became the proud owner of a small rubber penguin which was immediately installed on my desk.  I presumed she would live a happy life there,  but sadly I was wrong.  On Monday morning, I arrived at my desk to discover the penguin missing, and later that day I received a ransom note demanding cake for her return.  Her kidnap has taught me the importance of adequate security measures, which leads me to data protection.

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Are ETVs such a bad thing?

Thursday, 10 December 2009

napfV1We at Allen & Overy are very pleased to have hosted the NAPF’s annual trustee conference today – themed “a brighter future”.

One discussion I had over lunch was with a trustee whose employer was just about to send information out to deferred members of the scheme on an enhanced transfer value (ETV) exercise. A huge amount of effort had obviously been put in by all parties (trustees, employer and advisers) into understanding and dealing with any risks involved. He was quite confident that the offer was going to be put to deferred members in a very balanced way, so that they could make the choice that was appropriate for them.

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