ITM Director comments on equalisation

29-Jun-2010

ITM says equalisation blips on the data radar screen are getting louder and bigger

Independent Transition Management (ITM), the specialist data, administration consulting and IT support provider, said today that the issue of equalisation is going to become a huge problem fir many schemes unless action is undertaken

Phillip Bretnall, Director at ITM said; 'The issue of equalisation can no longer be ignored as more and more schemes embark on de-risking and closure programmes where benefits must be absolutely correct (as opposed to being actuarially "allowed for" (read fudged) at triennial valuation time. Our experience is that many schemes have gaping holes in either the actual details of equalised benefits or, even worse, in the base element of data that will allow re-calculation to be carried out. In many cases we have had to use our skills to rebuild data to allow equalisation benefits to be recorded'

Bretnall added, 'Given the new regulator Guidance for schemes to have HIGH targets of completeness for "conditional data", it is only a metter of time before the blips on the radar screen get bigger and louder'