Howden has been named the Independent Doctors Federation’s (IDrF) first-ever partner, strengthening the relationship between the two organisations.

The partnership will give IDrF members access to specialist insurance expertise, practical risk management guidance, and educational resources throughout their private practice careers. Howden has worked with the IDrF as a corporate member for several years, supporting events and providing specialist insight on areas including medical indemnity and practice risk. Howden Health and Care divisional director, Simon Gale, said: “I couldn't be prouder of this moment. We've worked alongside the IDrF team for years and being named their first-ever partner isn’t just a new title for us, it’s recognition of a genuine, long-standing commitment to independent doctors.” He added that the partnership would support further opportunities for IDrF members and the wider independent healthcare community.

Inbound pension transfer requests at Cushon almost doubled year-on-year after the launch of its digital financial assistant, Iris.

Cushon revealed that transfer requests increased by 99.7 per cent, with an average of 8,400 transfers actioned each month during 2026. Customers using Iris to consolidate pensions were looking to transfer an average of two pension pots each. The tool, which is embedded in Cushon’s workplace pension app, allows users to search for old pensions by entering the names of previous employers or pension providers, while also flagging potential exit penalties or fees. Cushon director of policy and research, Steve Watson, said: “People don’t need convincing that consolidating their pensions makes sense; they need us to make it easier.” He noted that complexity, jargon and the effort involved in tracing old pots remained barriers to consolidation, adding that Iris was designed to remove friction from the process. Cushon is now expanding Iris to support other forms of member engagement, including prompting customers to name beneficiaries and review their regular contributions.

LCP has been reappointed as the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) strategic pensions partner following a competitive tender process.

The reappointment builds on three years of work supporting housing associations through webinars, conference sessions, briefings and sector research. The next phase of the partnership will focus on issues including the implications of the Verity court case, improving funding positions, legacy pension liabilities, defined contribution (DC) reform, collective defined contribution (CDC) developments and the next Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) valuation cycle. LCP partner, Tim Gilbert, warned that pensions remained a “material strategic issue” for housing associations, adding that LCP would continue to help members understand risks, act on opportunities and make decisions aligned with their wider social purpose. LCP partner and head of social housing, Mike Richardson, said the sector was entering a period of “real change”, with developments across defined benefit (DB), DC, CDC and LGPS requiring “thoughtful and proportionate action”. NHF head of partnerships, Helen Collins, added that LCP’s understanding of the housing sector and pensions expertise had proved valuable to members over the past three years.

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