EDM website
Nearly six in ten pension managers expect the de-risking market to grow in 2014, a survey suggests.
Just 13% do not think it will expand, with 69% saying more companies will look to offer de-risking solutions in the next two years.
EDM Group's research revealed that 59% anticipated the level of UK DB pension de-risking in 2014 will be bigger than 2013, which is likely to be one of the biggest on record.
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The company believes, however, the market could potentially be much bigger, with 17% of interviewees saying the quality of information held by schemes is 'poor' or 'very poor'.
EDM and ITM, which provides data consulting to the financial services industry, have launched a new joint service to improve the quality of information held by UK defined benefit pension schemes to make it easier and cheaper to de-risk.
The de-risking of the Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund has been among EDM's 10 major projects in recent years.
EDM's chief financial officer Mark Jones said: "With better quality data that is instantly available electronically, they should receive more competitive quotes and therefore increase their chances of actually securing a deal."
Fiona Baldwin, head of pensions audit at Grant Thornton UK, said: "The Pensions Regulator has highlighted concerns over the quality of member data for some time and, in our experience, when considering a de-risking exercise, having high quality member data is not only commercially desirable but also aids the trustees in achieving good governance and the best outcome for their members."