F70PE - Pensions

Course leader(s):

• Andrea Sneddon (Edinburgh, September)

Syllabus

1. Pension scheme provision (1.1 1. Providers of pension schemes, 1.2 2. Other stakeholders, 1.3 3. Design of common pension schemes, 1.4 4. Legislative framework, 1.5 5. Commercial environment)

2. Pension benefit calculations (2.1 1. Accrued pension calculations, 2.2 2. Projected pension calculations)

3. Defined benefit valuation (3.1 1. Purpose, 3.2 2. Legislative requirements, 3.3 3. Funding methods, 3.4 4. Assumption setting, 3.5 5. Calculations of liabilities and contribution rates)

4. Analysis of surplus (4.1 1. Purpose, 4.2 2. Calculation, 4.3 3. Explanation)

5. Scheme assets (5.1 1. Available asset classes, 5.2 2. Suitability of asset classes for various scheme types, 5.3 3. Legislative requirements)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:

• apply knowledge of the UK pensions industry, from the point of view of various key stakeholders.
• evaluate individual pension entitlements from common forms of employer-sponsored and State funded pension arrangements.
• discuss the actuarial valuation process, including the purpose of the valuation and the approach required to set the valuation basis for defined benefit pension schemes.
• calculate the value of pension scheme liabilities and future contribution rates, where schemes may be found to be in surplus or deficit.
• analyse surplus or deficit where a valuation reveals scheme experience has been other than expected.
• evaluate the suitability of various asset classes for common forms of pension arrangements.
• evaluate the suitability of various pension structures for employer sponsors and governments, demonstrating commercial awareness and professionalism.
• employ business communication skills for a variety of audiences.

Further details

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SCQF Level: 10

Credits: 15