All scheme rules articles
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OpinionPinsent Masons: Why clear records matter when fixing pension scheme mistakes
Charlotte Scholes and Sam Robinson of Pinsent Masons explore a recent court ruling on scheme documentation and why it is important to keep accurate records of trustee meetings and decisions.
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NewsBrexit date hands victory to DWP in PPF assessment appeal
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has handed a near-complete victory to the Department for Work and Pensions over a ruling that threatened limits paid to members of the Pension Protection Fund, having concluded that the majority of respondents no longer had rights against age discrimination that had been grounded in European law.
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NewsFirefighters receive £3,750 govt payout over Sargeant ‘distress’
On the go: Nearly 9,000 firefighters will receive £3,750 from the government to compensate for anxiety and stress caused by a “government pensions debacle”.
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NewsGovernment prolongs relaxation of NHS pension rules
The government will extend amendments to the NHS Pension Scheme designed at boosting health worker numbers, prolonging measures that were introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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NewsCourt dismisses trustee’s Barber window arrears claim
The High Court has ruled that members of the CMG UK Pension Scheme are not entitled to payment of arrears that fell due more than six years ago, despite the trustee’s attempts to continue paying them.
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NewsDelaying retirement by a day could leave members £10,000 better off
Delaying retirement by a day could leave members £10,000 better off in retirement due to the way members’ benefits are calculated based on short-term inflation rates, according to research from XPS Pensions Group.
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NewsCost of discretionary increases to combat inflation could hit £18bn
The cost of awarding discretionary increases to members could now add £18bn to defined benefit schemes' liabilities, experts have warned, as inflation continues to rise.
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OpinionUnused legislative rule solves trustees drawdown conundrums
Hogan Lovells counsel Nicola Rondel details how powers granted by the Finance Act 2004 to override scheme rules in specific circumstances have been successfully used by trustees in two drawdown cases.
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NewsMNT resigns as BBC looks to High Court to change member benefits
The BBC will ask the High Court if it can make changes to its defined benefit pension scheme as part of a review of its ability to potentially close the scheme to future accrual, which has sparked the resignation of one member-nominated trustee.
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NewsUnions threaten strikes as TfL scheme review models pension cuts
At least two of the country’s biggest transport unions threatened industrial action after an independent review of the Transport for London Pension Scheme set out a suite of possible pension reforms that would cut benefits.
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NewsHigh Court resolves Merchant Navy ill-health pensions conundrum
The High Court has approved a settlement over ill-health benefits in the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund, which will see members compensated via lump sum arrears and increased pensions to those who had not been treated in accordance with scheme rules.
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News
MoD to reinstate Armed Forces Scheme member after scam transfer
The Ministry of Defence will have to reinstate a former member to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and pay him £2,000 for severe distress and inconvenience, after wrongly allowing him to transfer to the Capita Oak Pension Scheme, a scam that invested in storage pods.
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PodcastsPodcast: No way to avoid the indexation ‘rules lottery’ as inflation bites
Podcast: High inflation will spur more schemes to look to switch from the retail price index to the consumer price index, but there is still no way around the “rules lottery”. Eversheds Sutherland partner Stuart Earle and Aon partner Lynda Whitney discuss inflation, the botched attempt to raise the normal minimum pension age, and a new value for money framework.
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NewsDraft CDC regulations hampered by poor definitions, industry warns
The government’s consultation into draft regulations governing collective defined contribution schemes requires more work on definitions if these pension funds are to be properly implemented, with the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association warning it could create a “back door” for unscrupulous employers.
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News
Ombudsman slaps fine on ‘reckless’ trustee for multiple breaches
The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against the trustee of a small pension scheme for multiple breaches of trust and instances of malpractice, while demanding they reimburse the scheme to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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News
High Court clarifies rules over pension back payment arrears
The High Court has further clarified the procedure for paying arrears when a member has not claimed a back payment within the usual six-year period, confirming that scheme rules will determine whether trustees have discretion as to whether those benefits have been forfeited.
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News
TPR, PPF propose tiered approach in asset information reform
The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund have issued a joint consultation into proposals to change the asset class information TPR collects via the scheme return.
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News
Chancellor ponders lifetime allowance 'stealth tax'
On the go: Chancellor Rishi Sunak was reportedly planning to freeze the lifetime allowance for the rest of the current parliament, according to a report in the Times — a move that could see public sector workers hit hard.
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News
PPF halves small scheme levy but warns of future rate hikes
On the go: The Pension Protection Fund has confirmed it will halve the levy for schemes with less than £20m in liabilities in order to “better reflect the risk posed by small schemes”, according to the final version of its 2021-22 levy rules.
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PodcastsPodcast: New powers in Pension Schemes Act could cause bankruptcies
Podcast: New criminal provisions in the Pension Schemes Act are so broadly drafted that they could strangle legitimate business activity, potentially resulting in unnecessary bankruptcies. So says Arc Pensions Law partner Jane Kola, who, along with Society of Pension Professionals president James Riley, warn about the potentially dire consequences and call for more clarity from the regulator. More cheerfully, this inauguration day episode also covers the future of actuaries, small pots, and Donald Trump’s pension.