Welcome to our new blog series exploring the various ingredients that go into a successful general code of practice compliance programme. We have been cooking up a range of strategies over the last couple of years and are now happy to share our recipe for success! Background The general code sets very high standards … Continue Reading
According to complaints filed with Action Fraud, more than £30 million has been lost to pension scammers since 2017. All types of pension pots are targeted, with some individual savers losing hundreds of thousands of pounds. Given the current cost of living crisis, more people might feel tempted to access their pension savings, making them … Continue Reading
Debt illustrations are starting to land on the desks of employers who have historically participated in the Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme (“the Plumbing Scheme”). Together with Chris Hawley of Barnett Waddingham, we explore the arising issues and what challenges are open to these employers. Background The challenges facing the Plumbing Scheme … Continue Reading
Government consultation on transposing the fifth EU money laundering directive into UK law is under way. Do pension trustees need to worry about it? Probably not. Most of the shocks came in 2017, when the fourth money laundering directive was adopted in the UK. At the same time that many pension trustees were implementing a … Continue Reading
The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing. The benefits of a fully functional crystal ball to see the future would be much better. All pensions lawyers (and scheme actuaries) would add it to their gift list! I will attempt to take a look at the pensions related announcements in Monday’s budget from a future … Continue Reading
Starting on #Pensions Awareness Day in September, our #How2DoPensions education campaign involves sharing a bank of quick guides with clients, contacts and the wider pensions industry. Each Tuesday, we publish on our website a quick guide on a topical pensions issue and share a link on the main social media channels. The guides are short … Continue Reading
There’s good news and not so good news about the impact of anti-money laundering (AML) requirements on pension plans. Okay, so this is a slight exaggeration. There is definitely good news. The not so good news is only potentially not so good news and, given the new direction of travel of HMRC, it may even … Continue Reading
Whilst trustees of occupational pension plans are still grappling with the implications of the EU’s fourth money laundering directive, they will be horrified to hear that the fifth money laundering directive is already on its way! The fourth money laundering directive was implemented in the UK on 26 June last year and was the first one … Continue Reading
A lot has happened since 26 June 2017. We’ve had Wimbledon, summer holidays, a total solar eclipse, Leeds and Reading Festivals, the summer transfer window closed (football, not pensions), the start of the autumn term at school, the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships, Proms in the Park and we are now nearly into half term. … Continue Reading
To mark Pensions Awareness Day 2017, Squire Patton Boggs launches a series of free “How2 Do Pensions” guides! Each issue will provide a valuable speed brief on a key aspect of UK occupational pensions. The first two instalments summarise employer automatic enrolment duties and how to move to electronic member communications. Further instalments will follow each … Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May 2018. Before that date, trustees of UK occupational pension plans will need to undertake some preparatory work, including: Creating records of all personal data processing activities (or confirming delegation to plan administrators and obtaining confirmation that they will do this) and ensuring administration … Continue Reading
New regulations, coming into force in June 2017, will introduce stricter EU anti-money laundering requirements into the UK and seem likely apply to pension plans. The potential criminal penalties for breach of the regulations are likely to bring this to the forefront of people’s minds. Will the new regulations apply to pension plan trustees? Probably! … Continue Reading
The pensions industry can breathe a sigh of relief after the Spring Budget passed by with very little change to concern it. The only mentions of pensions (and some of these were in the accompanying briefing papers rather than the speech itself) were: A 25% charge on transfers to overseas pension plans (QROPS) effective immediately … Continue Reading
In January 2017 the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), as a representative body for pension funds, published its amended Corporate Governance Policy and Voting Guidelines. The PLSA observes that many of its members hold equity stakes in UK companies as part of their investment portfolio and have a clear interest in promoting the success … Continue Reading
The first half of 2017 will see the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in the UK, which is expected to encourage larger employers to take on more apprentices. Where an employer’s payroll is more than £3m, there is no escaping the levy and many will seek to recoup their levy cost by hiring new employees as … Continue Reading
The demand for corporates and wealthy individuals to adopt greater tax transparency continues to build momentum – the significance of the global reaction to it makes the recent Autumn Statement seem like chicken feed. The reforms being formulated could have a dramatic impact upon tax strategies and corporate governance generally. Whilst it will no doubt … Continue Reading
We anticipate that the significant increase in insurance premium tax that was announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement will encourage many more employers to explore corporate healthcare trusts. IPT will increase from 10% to 12% from June 2017, having been as low as 6% just over a year ago. This will apply to employee health … Continue Reading
Save for confirmation of a ban on cold calling and a reduction in the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, the UK Autumn Statement included no pension reform to the great relief of an industry in desperate need of a period of stability. The pension system was the cookie jar into which George Osborne kept dipping. Barely … Continue Reading
CPIH is to become the preferred method of UK consumer price inflation from March 2017, according to a statement issued by the National Statistician on 10 November 2016. This follows a wide-ranging and long-lasting process of consultation and consideration. But what will be the impact on UK pensions? Pension inflation measures have been in the … Continue Reading
Whilst the impact of the Charges and Governance Regulations on defined contribution pension plans is widely understood, the inconsistent approach to DC AVCs within defined benefit plans has caused some confusion. Unlike the requirements for a “value for money” assessment, chairperson’s statement and charge cap, which do not apply to plans where the only DC … Continue Reading
The Consumer Prices Index versus Retail Prices Index debate remains a live issue for many UK pension plans because of a material variation between rises in CPI and RPI which influences benefit cost. The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order 2015 was laid before Parliament on 24 November, and sets the statutory revaluation rate for 2015 at … Continue Reading
We anticipate that the significant increase in insurance premium tax that was announced in the UK Summer Budget on 8 July will encourage many more employers to explore corporate healthcare trusts. IPT will increase from 6% to 9.5% from November 2015. This will apply to employee health insurance policies like all other UK insurance products. … Continue Reading
The “freedom and choice” reforms to UK pensions are giving individuals many more options in terms of how they access their pension savings. To ensure individuals make an informed choice, the accompanying legislation and guidance generally promotes the need for some form of financial advice to be obtained. Three examples of advice requirements have taken … Continue Reading
