Regular round-up of the latest pensions, investments, trusteeship and scheme management news
Current Issues - August 2022
02 Aug 2022 - Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
See excerpts from this month's articles below (to read more, please download our latest Current Issues).
Long-awaited DB funding & investment legislation aired
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published an eagerly-anticipated consultation draft of the legislation necessary to implement scheduled reforms to the defined benefit (DB) funding regime. The main outcome would be a statutory requirement for long-term planning, but the revisions would have the side effect of obliging DB trustees to appoint a chairperson, and would also clarify what makes a recovery plan ‘appropriate’. This paves the way for the Pensions Regulator to launch a second consultation into its funding Code of Practice, later in the year.
DWP tweaks Dashboards Regulations based on consultation feedback
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has responded to comments received about the draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations that it circulated in January 2022. Several amendments have been made to its policy and the forthcoming legislation as a consequence of the feedback. A separate summary of the policy decisions was later published as a supplement to the main report.
Dashing towards dashboards deadlines
The Pensions Regulator has warned trustees to prepare their schemes ahead of the pensions dashboards deadlines. The injunction comes as the Regulator’s research indicates that the majority of trustees have yet to prepare their schemes for connection to dashboards, and are at risk of failing to meet their legal responsibilities.
Authorities pour oil on troubled transfer waters
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Pensions Regulator have made a joint statement about the policy behind November 2021’s Conditions for Transfers Regulations. Their statement was issued in response to accusations that some pension providers have ‘taken the opportunity to misuse recent legislation’. The Regulator has also revised its guidance on the matter.
Considering the ‘S’ in ESG
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has reported on the outcome of its March 2021 call for evidence about the 'S' in ESG: social factors. A new taskforce led by the Pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, will seek ways to encourage trustees to focus more on social factors and take them as seriously as environmental ones.
PPF announces plans for levy redesign
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published the emerging conclusions from its long-term funding strategy review, due to conclude this autumn. Its expectation is that the PPF levy will meaningfully reduce over the coming years and that the overall levy system will be made simpler and more flexible.
HMRC newsletters: July 2022
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published Pension Schemes Newsletter 141, which summarizes the pensions-related contents of the draft Finance Bill 2022/23 legislation.
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