Will the number of transfer top-up claims be any more predicable than the weather – can we expect a blizzard or a light flurry? Shortly after the recent High Court decision on the issue of guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation and historic transfers (the latest ruling in legal proceedings relating to a number of pension … Continue Reading
Just as the demise of Robert Maxwell led to a sea change (excuse the pun!) in the governance of pension plans via the Pensions Act 1995 it seems that the equally high-profile collapse of BHS may herald a major shift in the regulation of pension plans. The Work and Pensions Committee report on defined benefit … Continue Reading
Earlier this year it was announced that the UK’s Financial Assistance Scheme (“FAS”) would close to applications from 1 September 2016. This does not affect pension plans that are currently progressing through the notification and qualification process or pension plans that have already qualified for assistance. However, any qualifying pension plans that have not yet … Continue Reading
In his eighth Budget as UK Chancellor, George Osborne resisted his radical impulses, apparently in the face of backbench opposition, to overturn pensions tax relief and left pensions alone. In July 2015 HM Treasury issued a consultation “Strengthening the incentive to save: a consultation on pensions tax relief” which prompted a massive reaction from the … Continue Reading
On 21 October 2015 a new advertising campaign hit UK TV screens. Pensions Minister, Baroness Altmann, had a hand in designing the character “Workie” who features in the advert and is said to be the physical embodiment of the workplace pension. The aim of the joint DWP/Pensions Regulator campaign is to raise awareness of workplace … Continue Reading
