Tag Archives: pensions

Countdown To The First Own Risk Assessment

By Kate Bailey on Posted in UK Pensions
RISK on keyboardIt is just over a year since The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) general code of practice came into force. In the last year, our clients have made good progress towards compliance, with trustees working with internal teams and external advisers to review and update their practices and procedures, and to ensure that these are documented, leading … Continue Reading

Waffles, Passports and Trustee Directors – Part Two

By Claire Dimmock on Posted in UK Pensions
Part one of this blog covered the new requirement for company directors (including trustee directors) and persons with significant control to verify their identity with Companies House. They will be able to do this voluntarily from 25 March 2025 (the week during which national cocktail-making day, national cleaning week and international waffle day will be … Continue Reading

Is £1 Million Enough?

By Claire Dimmock on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Pensions Dashboards – Thyme Is of the Essence: How to Meet the 8 August 2024 Deadline

By Claire Dimmock on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Changes to the UK Water Special Administration Regime – Do Pension Trustees of Water Industry Schemes Need to Care?

By Wendy Hunter on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Reputational Risks: Lessons From the Odey Crisis

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Is the Clock Ticking for UK Pensions Law?

By Claire Dimmock on Posted in UK Pensions
“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

LDI-Gate Anyone?

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Down to the Wire!

By Keshinda Gage on Posted in UK Pensions
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

Getting to Net Zero: Lessons from Butler-Sloss v the Charity Commissioners & the Attorney General for Pension Schemes

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
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

A Trustee-like Approach to Green Gilts? Guest Blogger and Trustee Corporation Director, Glyn Ryland, Shares His Views

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
Governments can do many things to help tackle climate change. Insulation in older houses is in the news. New houses matter too. I know of a new housing estate, under construction now, with a gas boiler in every home. No heat pumps. No solar panels. Planning laws could be tweaked to make that impossible (or … Continue Reading

It’s Not All About Climate Change!

By Claire Dimmock on Posted in UK Pensions
It’s Not All About Climate Change! On 1 October 2021, new regulations came into force requiring larger pension schemes (starting with occupational schemes that have £5 billion or more of assets, plus authorised master trusts) to put in place appropriate governance, reporting and publication arrangements in connection with climate-related risks and opportunities. It is unusual … Continue Reading

GMP Equalisation Under the Microscope – Bulk Transfers Will Require Close Examination

By Wendy Hunter on Posted in UK Pensions
The recent court ruling known as “Lloyds 3” answered lots of questions about the need to revisit past transfer payments, where those transfer payments had been calculated without taking into account the obligation to equalise benefits for the effect of unequal guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs). However, the more we look at Lloyds 3, which focused … Continue Reading

We’re Invested in What?

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
If you are a trustee, have you ever had one of those letters or emails questioning your investment strategy? I don’t mean questions about de-risking triggers, the security of counterparties or even strategic asset allocation queries, which are the stuff of trustee meetings. The type of enquiry I am referring to is the persistent member … Continue Reading

GMP Equalisation Under the Microscope – Focusing in on Data Gaps

By Kevin Burge on Posted in UK Pensions
“Big Data” is a topic that is frequently referred to in the news.  The traditional definition of Big Data is data that contains greater variety, arriving in increasing volumes and with ever-higher velocity.  Whilst this definition isn’t typically of direct relevance to trustees of UK occupational pension schemes, it does have some application in the … Continue Reading

GMP Equalisation Under the Microscope – Proactivity Under the Lens

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in UK Pensions
GMP Equalisation and Underpaid Cash Equivalent Transfer Values – Will Trustees Have to Trace and Compensate Members Proactively, or Can Trustees Wait for Claims? Shortly after the High Court decision commonly referred to as “Lloyds 3”, which considered the issue of guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation and the extent to which past transfers out should be … Continue Reading

CMA Order: Three Ways to Avoid Starting 2021 With a Fine!

By Chris Harper and Philip Mulhall on Posted in UK Pensions
UK pension scheme trustees must submit their first compliance statement, along with a certificate, directly to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) by 7 January 2021. The compliance statement relates to obligations under the CMA Order issued in June 2019, including setting strategic objectives for investment consultants, which followed the conclusion of the CMA’s investigation … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court grants writ of certiorari on Railroad Retirement Tax Act issue

By Stacey Grundman on Posted in Stock and Share Incentive Plans, US, US retirement plans
  The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to resolve a split between the Seventh and Eighth Circuits related to a federal program that is a well-kept secret. Nothing as intriguing as Russian spies or hacked emails… but, I think, interesting nonetheless. Of course, you have heard about the Social Security system. And you probably know … Continue Reading

U.S. tax reform – retirement plan provisions finalized

By Michael Curto and Stacey Grundman on Posted in US, US retirement plans
The tax reform bill is done.  President Trump signed the bill on December 22, meeting his deadline for completion by Christmas. While there is much to be said about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), the update on the retirement plan provisions is relatively unexciting.  Recall that when the tax reform process started, … Continue Reading
LexBlog