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

• Briefing paper on impact of pension tax rules for some NHS staff
• TRS to be open for MLD5 trust registrations from start of September
• ICO fines company for unlawful pensions marketing calls
• PPI briefing note on rationale for UK pensions framework
• PLSA report on small pots

Briefing paper on impact of pension tax rules for some NHS staff

On 20 August 2021, the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper which focuses on the impact of pension tax rules on some senior NHS clinicians and GPs who are members of the NHS Pension Scheme (see 7 Days).

TRS to be open for MLD5 trust registrations from start of September

As part of the UK’s implementation of the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (“MLD5”), new rules were introduced in October 2020 extending the scope of the HMRC’s trust register, with some specific exclusions, including for registered pension schemes (see 7 Days). However, certain trust-based unregistered pension schemes, such as employer financed retirement benefit schemes (“EFRBSs”) and section 615 schemes are amongst those that will need to register.

The opening of the new Trust Registration Service (“TRS”) had been pushed back from March 2021 until this autumn (see 7 Days), but HMRC has recently announced to a stakeholder group that it will now open for non-taxpaying trust registrations in September 2021.

ICO fines company for unlawful pensions marketing calls

The ICO has fined a company £50,000 for making illegal marketing calls about pensions without obtaining people’s informed consent, in breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (see 7 Days).

PPI briefing note on rationale for UK pensions framework

On 19 August 2021, the Pensions Policy Institute (“PPI”) published a briefing paper entitled “Why now is the right time for a dedicated UK pensions framework” . This sets out the rationale for a new framework for “a comprehensive, systematic and multidimensional approach to analysing changes in the UK pension system”. The paper considers why now is the time for a new pensions framework, key features and design principles, and anticipated challenges and options to address them.

The PPI has said that it is currently designing this framework and expects to publish a methodology report “at the end of the year”. The first full report into how the system is working and why is expected in 2022, with refreshed analysis annually after that.

PLSA report on small pots

The PLSA has published a report entitled “Small Pots, Big Solutions”, the first in a new series of collaborations between the PLSA and industry partners. In the report, the PLSA notes that the number of small pots has continued to grow and that the PPI projected that “without policy change the number of deferred pots could grow from 8m to 27m by 2035”. The report identifies areas where progress can be made, including auto-consolidation, data-matching, and pensions dashboards, and highlights outstanding questions which still need to be addressed.