Case Law
Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pension Trustees II – no appeal to Supreme Court
We reported on the Court of Appeal judgment in this case in our Pensions Insights - July 2024
Nothing has been filed appealing the Court of Appeal's judgment to the Supreme Court.
New Law
Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding and Investment Strategy and Amendment) Regulations 2024
The regulations are now in force and the new requirements apply to scheme valuations with effective dates on or after 22 September 2024.
It was expected that the revised DB code of practice and accompanying guidance would also come into force by 22 September when the new requirements start to apply, however the timetable was delayed due to the 2024 General Election.
Whilst there will be a regulatory gap between when the new legislative requirements start to apply and when the code is in force TPR has confirmed that schemes with effective valuation dates that fall in this period must comply with the new requirements set out in legislation.
News
Government Pensions Review Phase 1
The Government has published the Terms of Reference for Phase 1 of its landmark pensions review which will focus on defined contribution workplace schemes and the Local Government Pension Scheme and on developing policy in four areas:
- Driving scale and consolidation of defined contribution workplace schemes;
- Tackling fragmentation and inefficiency in the Local Government Pension Scheme through consolidation and improved governance;
- The structure of the pensions ecosystem and achieving a greater focus on value to deliver better outcomes for future pensioners, rather than cost; and
- Encouraging further pension investment into UK assets to boost growth across the country.
It is expect that this phase will focus on investment and report on initial findings later this year, ahead of the introduction of the Pension Schemes Bill. The second phase will start later this year and alongside investment will consider further steps to improve pension outcomes, including assessing retirement adequacy.
PASA Guidance on preparing for the change to NMPA
PASA has published Guidance on preparing for the change to Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) ahead of the increase to age 57 from 6 April 2028 (noting that although the increase is three and a half years away, trustees and administrators should take action now to prepare for the change and ensure people with a PPA are treated fairly).
This Guidance is designed to support trustees and administrators to:
- identify scheme members with a Pension Protected Age (PPA) who will be impacted by the change in NMPA;
- deal with transferred in PPAs;
- understand how these changes differ to the last NMPA increase in 2010; and
- provide a checklist of actions which should be taken now to prepare for the new legislation.
TPR Pensions dashboards compliance and enforcement policy
Following consultation TPR has published its Pensions dashboards compliance and enforcement policy for governing bodies (trustees and managers) of occupational pension schemes in respect of their duties under the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022, and corresponding regulations for Northern Ireland.
TPR notes that it will focus strongly on connection compliance including, but not limited to the:
- scheme not connecting by the connection deadline;
- governing body being unable to demonstrate they have regard to the guidance on connection; and
- scheme failing to fully connect or remain connected to dashboards in line with the regulations and Money and Pensions Service's standards.
In terms of preparation TPR has set out a list of next steps for trustees and scheme managers advising that they should:
- Read the guidance – knowing your duties is the first step. In particular, we will expect trustees and managers to be able to demonstrate their ‘having regard’ for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP’s) connection guidance. This is not just about meeting TPR’s expectations, but also complying with the law.
- Plan to connect in a staged and orderly manner in line with DWP guidance. Schemes face increased risks of non-compliance and reputational damage if they don’t connect promptly.
- Manage resource according to your plan. Trustees must establish robust controls and contractual agreements when selecting and managing service providers.
If you have any queries about any of the issues covered, or you require advice on a pensions related matter, please do not hesitate to contact your usual contact.
