Scheme professionals have predicted devolved tax and welfare powers to Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland could increase the cost of administering schemes which have members across the UK, though others doubt the impact.
Last week, prime minister David Cameron pledged to give Scotland greater tax and welfare powers after the country voted to stay part of the UK, and extended that to the other Union nations.
Administration systems will have to be revamped to accommodate different rules
Mike Kennedy, Barnett Waddingham
Some worried a 'yes' vote could have created volatility in financial markets and funding issues with plans that had become cross-border schemes. However, devolved powers will still mean changes to the pensions tax and regulatory system which could increase costs.
Steven Robson, pensions manager at United Utilities, said he does not anticipate any material issues as a result of increased devolved powers to constituent nations.
However he said cross-border schemes might have to make changes to their payroll systems. "If you run one payroll you would have to have different systems [according] to where your employees live and where they pay their tax," said Robson.
Mike Kennedy, partner at consultancy at Barnett Waddingham, said it was unlikely that any changes would come to pension legislation, and more likely tax powers that will affect schemes.
"Administration systems will have to be revamped to accommodate different rules. If there are changes to income tax rules that's going to be an additional layer of cost," he said.
Nicola Rondel, of counsel in law firm Hogan Lovells pension team, said it would be hard to imagine a case where each country would get their own regulator and ombudsman.
She said: "The things Scotland was interested in were welfare and tax and that sort of thing. There is some interest on their part in pensions but more state pensions which wouldn't affect the regulator or PPF."
Speaking before the vote, Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said any impact of devolved powers would likely only be felt after the general election.
“In the meantime business as usual, [we are] not anticipating radical reaction from currency bond or equity markets with a 'no' vote,” he said.
Mike Nixon, head of pensions at defence company Finmeccanica agreed, saying it was unlikely the company will have to make significant changes to its schemes. "It certainly makes life a lot easier than it otherwise might have been," Nixon said.
Jeffrey Dong, head of treasury at Swansea City Council, said he does not foresee any difficulties or impact on the scheme as a result of increased devolved powers to Wales. "It's just a by-product of a debate Scotland are having," he said.
