How can I help you? – Handling member queries the right way

Many trustees will, from time to time, find themselves contacted directly by members with questions and requests for information about their pension benefits. Trustees generally want to help out members wherever they can. However, despite...

Discharging your legacy annuities – trickier than you might think?

These days defined benefit schemes buy annuities as part of a bulk exercise to manage liabilities and ultimately wind-up the scheme. However, in the past many schemes bought annuities in the name of the trustee with different insurers as...

Transfers – top tips for trustees

New regulations (with accompanying regulatory guidance from TPR) came into force on 30 November introducing significant changes to the statutory transfer regime, to empower trustees to halt suspicious transfers. Whilst administration is...

Admin practice – the missing piece of the benefit specification puzzle?

As Sarah Henderson mentioned in her recent blog, “Why the rules are just the beginning…”, one of the key steps in building a benefit specification for a bulk annuity policy is adding in admin practice. So why is admin practice so...

Simpler annual benefit statements – an update

Following on from my August 2021 blog post on the DWP’s plans to introduce simpler annual benefit statements, we have now had some time to digest the DWP’s response in October to its consultation and the finalised Regulations, which...

Collective DC: the dawn of a new era?

Earlier this year the Pension Schemes Act 2021 provided the long awaited statutory framework for Collective Money Purchase (“CMP”) schemes, commonly referred to as Collective Defined Contribution (or “CDC”) in the UK.   This was...

Top Tips for Trustees: Crystallising discretions on buy-in

Sarah Henderson’s blog last month, “Why the rules are just the beginning…”, looked at steps to building a benefits specification for a bulk annuity policy. One of the steps was crystallising trustee discretions. Let’s look at...

TPR’s single code: a marathon, not a sprint (but you need to start training)

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) consulted earlier this year on its proposed new single code of practice (the Code). The Code is to combine 10 of TPR’s existing 15 codes of practice into an updated and online format, and with content that...

Why the rules are just the beginning…

The benefit specification from start to finish When securing benefits through a bulk annuity policy with an insurer, it’s important to ensure the benefits are carefully documented in your benefit specification. Why? Because, otherwise,...

Gender recognition by pension schemes: the legal position

For many occupational pension schemes there is an interplay between the scheme’s benefit structure and gender that continues to necessitate the inclusion of a member’s gender on their scheme record. As such, schemes should ensure they...