In recent years, The Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) has been steadfast in enforcing compliance among pension scheme trustees and employers, often issuing penalties for non-compliance. However, recent cases indicate that with a valid reason, it is possible to contest and even overturn penalties. Here, we examine three noteworthy tribunal decisions that shed light on the courts’ … Continue Reading
To what extent does your trustee board understand the various ways in which they might be protected if things go wrong and claims are made against them? It is a difficult topic to think about, as no trustee ever wants to be on the receiving end of a claim. If your trustee board has not … Continue Reading
It’s Yorkshire Day on 1 August and, when I was thinking about this blog, the stereotype of a stingy Yorkshireman came to mind. Not because I think Yorkshire folk are actually stingy. I don’t! I was wondering whether TPR’s powers granted under the Pension Schemes Act 2021 (PSA 21) have made a difference, or whether … Continue Reading
A key deadline is looming under the 2022 Dashboards Regulations, and it is not your pension scheme’s “connect by” date, nor is it the ultimate statutory connection deadline of 31 October 2026. Pension schemes have until 8 August 2024 to apply to extend their deadline for connecting to the pensions dashboards infrastructure beyond the statutory … Continue Reading
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is never out of the news for long. With manifestos from the Lib Dems and Labour containing pledges around pension funds being required to align with the Paris Agreement goals, and the Green Party’s manifesto containing a pledge to require the removal of fossil fuel assets from investment portfolios, now … Continue Reading
Trustees of many defined benefit pension schemes are accelerating moves towards buyout, aided by recent market improvements. While the immediate focus may be on completing the buyout, trustees should plan ahead for the scheme wind up and consider how they will be protected if existing exoneration and indemnity provisions fall away. Trustees will want to … Continue Reading
Many pension scheme trustees and employers aspire to undertake a risk transfer transaction, typically an insurance company buy-out for defined benefit (DB) schemes or a transfer to a master trust for defined contribution (DC) schemes. In each case, this will ultimately herald the termination of the pension scheme and an end to all governance systems. … Continue Reading
Questions around the “end game” for DB schemes dominate the pensions press at the moment. The amount of tax due on authorised surplus payments to employers reduced from 35% to 25% from 6 April 2024 and we await the outcome of a government consultation on options for DB schemes (which includes changing some of the … Continue Reading
Have you ever asked a seemingly straightforward question, only to be met with an answer that starts with “Well, it depends…..”? This can be a touch irritating. However, it may be the first part of the answer given to trustees who ask for advice on what aspects of the Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) general code of … Continue Reading
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
As a contentious lawyer, I tend not to be involved in pensions issues when everything is going smoothly – my phone normally rings when trustees or employers are facing a problem of reasonable magnitude. I often wish that I had been involved at an earlier stage, at the point that the problem was (or could … Continue Reading
The rugby Six Nations Championship has been a recent topic of conversation. But do you know how long pensions dashboards have been a topic of conversation? Almost 10 years – ever since the issue was raised in a report by the Financial Conduct Authority in December 2014! We are now about to witness kick-off as … Continue Reading
Changes are afoot to the statutory regime governing special administrations for regulated water companies (the SAR) following the publication of a suite of new legislation. Impact of the changes on pension trustees Further details of the changes are set out in a blog post by restructuring colleagues Helena Clarke and Charlotte Moller. Helena and Charlotte note … Continue Reading
When The News Broke… Last Wednesday I was on a Teams call with a client discussing some forthcoming cyber security training when a news alert flashed up. I had to interrupt – “Oh gosh, the general code is finally out!” We shared a brief silence, each mentally reviewing our to do lists and working out … Continue Reading
Significant market and interest rate movements over recent years have seen funding positions improve for many defined benefit pension plans across the UK, and in a lot of cases this has resulted in pension plans finding themselves with an unexpected surplus. If sponsors and trustees are not anticipating a surplus, this can lead to uncertainty … Continue Reading
The investigations into Odey Asset Management and its founder, Crispin Odey, which are currently capturing the headlines in the financial press, tell a familiar story of how fast a financial institution can fall from grace when disaster strikes. Institutional investors (and by extension some retail funds that had been invested in Odey’s strategies) have already … Continue Reading
“The Brexit Freedoms Bill will enable the UK government to remove years of burdensome EU regulation in favour of a more agile, home-grown regulatory approach that benefits people and businesses across the UK”. (Government press release, 22 September 2022) “This has nothing to do with the merits of Brexit. It’s about how we make law … Continue Reading
It can’t be long before someone starts discussing LDI-Gate (the turmoil in the gilts market following the Government’s September mini budget), looking for parties to blame. There have been rumours about potential claims against liability driven investment (“LDI”) managers and investment consultants, and pensions celebrities have been summoned to appear before parliamentary select committees to … 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
How do you succeed in serving up pensions dashboards to scheme members? It is a bit like creating a complicated recipe. You know how you want your dish to look and taste, but how do you get there? First, the ingredients have to be listed. Second, the method has to be tried and tested (and … Continue Reading
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is not pulling any punches in its latest messaging around pensions dashboards. The Deadline campaign, launched on 22 June 2022, follows research conducted by TPR revealing that insufficient progress has been made by schemes in preparing for pensions dashboards and moving towards the level of digitalisation of member records that will … Continue Reading
Each year, I have a profound respect and admiration for colleagues and friends who have fasted during Ramadan. It is a very public demonstration of their faith, which clearly also has tremendous personal significance. I was particularly struck this year how LinkedIn was full of supportive comments and suggestions how employers might support those fasting. … Continue Reading
On 28 April 2022, at 4:35 pm we issued legal advice to our client regarding the GMP conversion exercise for two schemes, along with final versions of the deed of amendment to bring into effect GMP conversion; the Conversion Date was set for 1 May 2022. At 4:43 pm, we get an e-mail from our … Continue Reading
Once in a while trustees get frustrated with what the law appears to tell them is their fiduciary duty. If they can afford it, trustees can resolve such ambiguities or uncertainty by getting a ruling from the courts as to how to interpret their duties. This is what two sets of charitable trustees recently did … Continue Reading
