Today's Budget brought some good news: Despite recent speculation, National Insurance contributions (NICs) will not be charged on employers’ pension contributions; and No changes were announced to members’ tax-free lump sums....more
Trustees or managers of an occupational pension scheme with 100 or more members must carry out and document an ORA. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) describes an ORA as an assessment of how well a scheme’s “effective system of...more
Our clients have been asking us whether they should conduct a review of previous deeds of amendment in light of the Court of Appeal decision in the Virgin Media case. This article sets out our views....more
Regulations issued on 7 October 2024 will change (again) the requirements for calculating whether a member may be paid a trivial commutation lump sum (TCLS). The Pensions (Abolition of Lifetime Allowance Charge etc) (No. 3)...more
In a recent blog, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged schemes to get on with steps to comply with their pension dashboard duties. Its particular concern is that schemes may not be sufficiently prepared to connect with the...more
The Court of Appeal has today (25 July 2024) dismissed the employer’s appeal against a High Court decision last year that historic amendments to members’ contracted-out rights were void. This increased the value of accrued...more
Recovering overpayments of benefits is a challenge often faced by pension trustees. Pension scheme benefits are complex and it is no surprise that mistakes can arise and lead to members being paid more than they are entitled...more
The Court of Appeal last week heard appeals by the sponsoring employers in two important pension cases. In both cases the employers had wished to amend (or to explore amending) the scheme rules to reduce the cost of future...more
Legislation in a hurry... Pensions tax is never simple, and the legislation abolishing the lifetime allowance (LTA) on 6 April 2024 (“L-Day”) bears this out. Regulations issued mid-March correct some, but by no means all, of...more
Private equity and other illiquid private market investment funds have become increasingly relevant to pension fund investors in recent years as they have sought to diversify a minority proportion of their portfolios away...more
The government has ambitious plans for the future of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, many of which, it is hoped, will help the UK economy through increased investment in productive finance. In particular, the...more
The Autumn Statement confirmed that the lifetime allowance (LTA) will be abolished from 6 April 2024 (“L-Day”). The legislation to achieve this is contained in the Finance Bill, issued on 29 November, of which a whopping 100...more
The government is keen to see continued reduction in the number of DC trust-based occupational pension schemes, believing that a smaller number of large, well-run schemes will result in better outcomes for members while...more
On 28 November 2023, we held our recent developments in pensions seminar covering legal updates from the pensions industry from the recent months.
Topics members of our team covered included: Autumn Statement 2023: what...more
Pension trustees and sponsoring employers may have seen commentary on the recent case of Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees Ltd and others, which concerned procedural requirements for historic amendments in relation to...more
We run a comprehensive programme of pension training for clients and their advisers, including training for new pension trustees, training for experienced trustees and regular morning seminars reviewing legal developments in...more
The pension tax changes announced in the Budget today represent a revolution in pension taxation. This alert gives a short summary of the announcements affecting pensions. No doubt further complexities will arise as the...more
Welcome to Hogan Lovells UK pension team's October 2022 newsletter. The past fortnight has demonstrated how pension schemes can be significantly impacted by unexpected turmoil in financial markets. ...more
Welcome to Hogan Lovells UK pension team’s July 2022 newsletter. An unusual case in the Employment Tribunal has raised the potential for claims for age discrimination in respect of service before 1 December 2006 (when age...more
Welcome to Hogan Lovells UK pension team’s April 2022 newsletter, covering highlights from the previous month. Contents GMP equalisation update Encouraging DC schemes to invest in illiquid assets Notifiable events update ...more
Pension scheme (and other) trustees must register certain trusts with HMRC by 1 September 2022, following the implementation in the UK of the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD). While the new requirements do not apply to...more
Welcome to Hogan Lovells pensions UK team's March 2022 newsletter, covering highlights from the previous month. Contents Our recent pensions and ESG webinar Ukraine: Pensions Regulator guidance Pension dashboards: action...more
A requirement to tell the Pensions Regulator (tPR) about certain events (“notifiable events”) has long been part of tPR’s armoury in its ongoing campaign to strengthen funding of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes....more
The Act introduces two new offences – conduct risking accrued DB benefits and avoidance of employer debt, as explained below. Each offence is punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment and / or an unlimited fine. There are...more
The passage of the Pension Schemes Act 2021 (the Act) into the statute books has received press coverage far beyond the usual pension industry commentary. New criminal offences and civil penalties, plus increased powers for...more
8/17/2021
/ Criminal Liability ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Failure to Comply ,
Fines ,
Pension Schemes ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) ,
UK