7 days


7 Days is a weekly round up of developments in pensions, normally published on Monday afternoons. We collate this information from key industry sources, such as the DWP, HMRC and TPR.

In this 7 Days

Remembrance

We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty the Queen.  Her unstinted dedication to public service for over 70 years is an inspiration to us all.

New Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Chloe Smith was appointed as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 6 September 2022, following Liz Truss’ appointment as Prime Minister on the same day.

Chloe was previously Minster for Disabled People, Health and Work and was elected Conservative MP for Norwich North on 23 July 2009.

PASA publishes guidance on Exit Agreements for administration services transfers

On 8 September 2022, PASA published guidance on Exit Agreements used when transferring administration services to a new administrator.  The guidance is designed to support trustees, administrators and scheme managers when planning and managing a transition and includes a template Exit Agreement.

The guidance also includes an updated version of PASA’s Code of Conduct on Administration Provider Transfers, with the updates coming into effect from 1 January 2023.

In the accompanying press release, PASA encourages trustees to be “pro-active” and to check their current administration agreements to see if they already have some contractually agreed terms on exit.

BT Pension Scheme Trustees v UK Statistics Authority (High Court) – 1 September 2022

On 1 September 2022, Mr Justice Holgate rejected on all grounds a claim for judicial review by the trustees of the BT Pension Scheme, Ford Pension Schemes and Marks & Spencer Pension Scheme against the UK Statistics Authority (“USKA”) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of the UKSA’s decision to change the methods used to compile the Retail Prices Index (“RPI”).

See our case summary for more detail.