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April 09

T

The AA

Member
How did people find it!!!

My opninon is that the paper was very long and there was not enough time!!!

I think you could have sat the exam without studying the course, as there was hardly any bookwork!!
 
Not enough time...

I felt the same - v time pressured!

I agree - hardly any bookwork. Couldn't always tell what the examiners were looking for. Just wrote down the first thing that came into my head, and unfortunately didn't have time to go back and add to them!

What do you reckon the pass mark is?
 
Well I got an FA :( .

Can anyone explain two points made in the examiners' report (which I've never heard of before).

1 iii) Point about orphan members to reduce PPF levy (which examiners seemed to think should be well known)

2 iv) What are "Barber" benefits? Must you allow for these or can you choose to ignore them for calculating TV's?
 
Hello Didster

I'm sorry to hear about your FA. I hope it all goes better for you this time.

In response to the particular points you raise:

i) Orphan members are members (usually deferred and pensioner members!) of a pension scheme who cannot be apportioned to their correct employer (for example because the employer ceases to exist or because historic employment data on the members is not available).

These members must be included on the Scheme Return and therefore used in the calculation of the scheme specific element of the PPF levy.

If there is a number of employers participating in a scheme (and so a choice of employers the members can be apportioned to) it might make sense to place them with the employer who has the best failure score (to keep the PPF levy as low as possible for the combined scheme).

ii) "Barber" benefits relate to a court case regarding equalisation of retirement benefits/ages between men and women. For more information please see the following article for a bit more information (there's plenty of stuff comes up when you search on the internet for "Barber benefits").

http://www.pensions-pmi.org.uk/Publications/PMInews/2004/november04pminews.pdf

It will depend on the exact wording of the trust deed and rules - but generally if a scheme has a Barber period then these benefits are allowed for in the transfer value calculation.

I hope this helps!

Elizabeth
 
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