So now we know, BA is not going to let things rest following its defeat in one of the biggest, most high profile and lengthy pensions cases in recent years. It is has been reported that it has sought and been granted leave to appeal. This was yet another case involving questions about indexation of … Continue Reading
Age discrimination is a notoriously difficult area to address in the context of pension plans (which, by their very nature, provide benefits by reference to the age of an individual). Two recent UK employment tribunal decisions have put age discrimination into the spotlight – with very different outcomes.… 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
Last week (4 May 2017), the European Commission published a legislative proposal to amend various provisions of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Regulation 648/2012) (EMIR). The proposal was adopted following a general report on EMIR published by the Commission in November 2016. Although the report indicated that “no fundamental change should be made to the … Continue Reading
The Upper Tribunal has rejected an application by the trustee of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme for an expedited referral of its case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”). The Upper Tribunal decided that the unprecedented circumstances arising from the triggering of Article 50 did not alter its established test, … 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
“All the better to eat you with, my dear.” And so our precautionary tale begins. Chapter 1 – Lost in the woods Once upon a time the Pensions Act 2004 (the Act) was introduced and it gave a variety of enforcement powers to the newly formed Pensions Regulator (TPR). For a time at least, employers … Continue Reading
A client asked me a pertinent question yesterday, along the lines of: “Do the pensions changes announced in the last Budget still stand given that they are not yet enshrined in legislation and Parliament is soon to be dissolved?” The short and unhelpful answer is: “It depends…” But what exactly does it depend upon? By … Continue Reading
Ever heard the phrase “omnia praesumuntur rite esse acta”? Me neither, until a Scottish court handed down its judgment in the case of Knight v Sedgwick Noble Lowndes. It has been known for some time that the Scottish courts generally take a pragmatic approach to the construction of pension plan documentation. For example, in a … Continue Reading
Do your pension plan rules marry-up with member expectations? Since the Millennium it is fair to say the world has changed a great deal for defined benefit pension plans. Not least of the changes trustees have had to contend with are those in respect of survivors’ benefits. The majority of defined benefit pension plans make … Continue Reading
The money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) affects individuals who have accessed their UK pension savings flexibly – it restricts further tax-free contributions they can make to defined contribution registered pension plans. A change of tactics The original MPAA introduced in 2015 was £10,000. Just two years later the Government’s response to its MPAA consultation, issued … Continue Reading
Let’s start with the small print… From April 2017 it will be possible for individuals to take regulated financial advice and to have up to £500 deducted from their defined contribution (DC) pension pot and paid over directly to a financial adviser. This is for regulated “retirement financial advice”, defined as “advice in respect of … Continue Reading
Trustees and pensions administrators should revise their transfer processes following an announcement in the UK Spring Budget designed to “tackle abuse of foreign pension schemes”. What’s the issue? In summary, where a member makes a formal request to transfer pension funds to an overseas pension plan the transfer will be an authorised payment provided that … 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
The UK Government has issued its Green Paper on the future and sustainability of DB pensions, with consultation closing on 14 May 2017. Despite its 99 pages, the main conclusion is that the system isn’t broken: “Whilst recognising that the system may not be operating optimally in all areas, our main conclusion is that there … Continue Reading
What have Pierce Brosnan, Whoopi Goldberg, Donny Osmond, Kiefer Sutherland, Sarah Palin, Jim Carrey, Charlie Sheen and Priscilla Presley all got in common? They all became grandparents before the age of 50. They are not alone. Many new parents have parents who are still of working age. And as the goalposts for the state pension … 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
After a busy 2016 in the pensions world it looks likely that 2017 will be just as eventful. The UK government will be following up on various consultations and finalising numerous pieces of legislation that are currently in draft. The planned green paper on DB pension reform should also make for some interesting reading, especially … 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
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
On 8 December 2016 the European Council published that it had adopted IORP II, which was approved and agreed by the European Parliament on 24 November 2016. The European Council set out in its publication that the directive is aimed at facilitating the development of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) and better protecting pension … 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
The UK Pensions Regulator has power to prohibit a person from acting as a pension plan trustee. When it does so, the reputational consequences for the individual can be severe and go beyond the pensions sphere. In 2011, three trustees of a pension scheme were prohibited from acting as trustees of any occupational pension plans. … 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
