A recent judgment concerning scheme liabilities and the interpretation and operation of a scheme’s forfeiture rules in the context of a benefit correction exercise may impact the scope for trustees to rely on their scheme’s forfeiture rule to limit back payments in the context of GMP equalisation or where back payments are due for other … Read more

Our latest Pensions Planner is here. The Planner and our handy timeline will help you keep up to date with the latest developments in pensions law and practice and help you identify the key pensions issues that your scheme or organisation needs to address in the coming months. The latest edition covers: The Pensions Regulator’s … Read more

The Pension Regulator’s latest Annual Funding Statement covers a lot of ground, emphasising the need for trustees to determine how their covenant has been impacted by Covid-19 and Brexit and to assess whether they are on track to reach their long-term funding target. Where a recovery plan is needed, affordability remains a key consideration and, … Read more

The DWP is planning to introduce new measures to empower trustees and pension providers to protect their members from pension scams. Draft regulations (which are subject to consultation) would see four new statutory conditions introduced, one of which must be met before a statutory transfer could take place. Although many will argue that such measures … Read more

Welcome to the latest edition of our pension disputes bulletin. In this edition we cover: the Pension Regulator’s draft policy on policing the new pensions criminal offences recent cases on transfers, scams and rectification new regulatory guidance on assisting members with financial matters guidance from the Ombudsman on appointing IFAs and signposting members, and the … Read more

In a recent determination (PO-24554), the Pensions Ombudsman has indicated that it would generally expect pension providers to update their transfer processes, due diligence checks and member communications within “approximately one month” of new regulatory guidance being issued. This is significantly less than the three month period the Ombudsman has indicated would be acceptable in … Read more

With the most significant reforms to UK pensions regulation for nearly two decades due to come into force later this year, we are delighted to launch our new UK pensions regulation hub to help you keep track of our latest thinking on the new regulatory requirements and the emerging risks. On the hub you will … Read more

After much work, the Pensions Regulator has published its new single code of practice for consultation. The new code is designed to update the Regulator’s expectations of workplace pension schemes and to make those expectations clearer and more accessible. As well as updating existing requirements, the code sets out a number of new requirements, including … Read more