Editorial: And by that I mean we’re coming to the end of 2015 with several gargantuan issues left outstanding, hanging over the heads of schemes and providers.
Whether you’re an employer, a defined contribution provider, a defined benefit fund or a local authority scheme, you’ll likely be heading into 2016 with a sense of unease that may detract from the usual vigour that the turn of a new year brings.
Illustration by Ben Jennings
One of the biggest non-surprises of this year was the launch of a consultation on tax relief – in fact we discussed its imminence in this very publication back in January. At the time, Steve Webb was still pensions minister, Ed Balls was shadow chancellor and almost everybody was settling into the prospect of a Lib-Lab coalition come May. Remember that?
But the tax relief debate back then centred largely on distribution – ie how far should we move the slider to give more or less to lower and median earners? The taxed-upfront curveball came later in the summer, and the industry has been flummoxed by the notion ever since.
Some fear that it might actually come about; for others it’s a bogeyman, an anchoring device by government to set one expectation but then supplant it with a milder yet still-significant change that will seem more palatable in comparison.
Either way the (sensible) move to push back any decision until spring could weigh heavily on the early-year planning for scheme managers and providers of both DB and DC schemes.
Another change worthy of being branded with the ‘seismic’ cliché is the asset pooling of the LGPS.
While the transfer of more liquid assets isn’t timetabled to start until April 2018, LGPS funds have been left to choose their own teams and have until February to put forth their initial plans for pooling.
In addition to these, uncertainty abounds around monetary policy, disclosure of transaction costs, the end of contracting-out, secondary annuities (although watch this space) and, if rumours are to be heeded, the possible re-emergence of the collective DC debate later next year – to name but a few.
The challenge for those running schemes is continuing to make proactive and bold improvements while rulebooks are being rewritten and market conditions bite.
If ever a restful hiatus was needed, it’s now.
And on that note I'd like to wish all Pensions Expert readers a very merry Christmas. The print edition will be taking a break until January 18, but you can stay up to date with our news and analysis online at pensions-expert.com.
Maxine Kelly is editor at Pensions Expert. You can follow her on Twitter @MaxineEK and the team @pensions_expert
