Pensions A-Z
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Consultation: Basics
Under the Pensions Act 2004, employers with more than 50 employees have a statutory duty to consult “affected employees” before making “listed changes” (for further details see, Listed changes: Occupational Pension Schemes) to a pension scheme. The duty applies to changes made by an employer or the trustees.
While the trustees of a scheme are not required to carry out the consultation themselves, they should be reasonably satisfied that employers have consulted properly with their employees before agreeing any “listed change”. For details of the procedure see, Consultation: procedure.
“Affected employees” include all active and prospective members of a scheme to whom the “listed change” in question relates.
This obligation is in addition to any other consultation requirements, for example under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 or the Information and Consultation Regulations 2004.