Community Perspectives
BABC Presents $15,000 Check to Raphael House
The President of the British American Business Council Northern California, Colin Brown, was joined by HM Consul General Priya Guha for the official presentation of a $15,000 check raised at the BABC Annual Christmas Luncheon to Raphael House on Friday, March 15, 2013.
Raphael House, the first of its kind in Northern California, provides family support service and shelter for families and children experiencing homelessness in San Francisco from its base at 1065 Sutter Street.
This is the seventh consecutive year the charity has been the chosen beneficiary of the BABC Annual Christmas Luncheon’s fundraising efforts.
More Change for UK Pensions
For anyone following the UK pensions’ industry over the last several decades, one thing has remained certain – change - and 2012 did not disappoint. The Chancellor made several important announcements in his Autumn Statement affecting UK pensions.
UK final salary schemes continue to be heavily in deficit. In May 2012, they hit a record deficit level of £312bn. A report issued in September 2012 showed that 11 companies in the FTSE 100 had pension liabilities greater than their equity market value (BT, BAE and RBS amongst others). While the deficit did decrease by December to £244.7bn, these sobering statistics have been caused by a number of factors including a fall in equities, the Bank of England’s quantitative easing programme and people living longer. Some also argue that the way pension liabilities are currently measured create artificially high pension deficits. As a result, the Chancellor announced a review of the methods used by companies to assess the health of their final salary schemes. This review could result in an automatic reduction in reported deficits and the amounts that companies will need to put aside to meet future pay-outs. While welcomed by many in the business community, there is concern that changes could result in sudden unexpected deficits in the future.
Letter on the Autumn Statement from HM Consul General
Priya Guha, HM Consul General in San Francisco, has written a letter to all BABC members to share the news outlined in the British Chancellor’s Autumn Statement earlier this month. This is the Chancellor’s semi-annual update to Parliament on how the UK economy is doing, reports progress on the UK’s fiscal plans, and provides an opportunity to announce new policy measures aimed at supporting growth.
The Mostly British Film Festival Returns Jan 17-24
The Mostly British Film Festival will celebrate its fifth anniversary with twenty-five new and classic feature films and documentaries from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and South Africa.
“There is something to please everyone in our selection of films,” festival co-director Jack Bair said of the week long event benefiting the non-profit San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation. “In many cases, this will be your only chance to see these films on a big screen.”
