Master trusts: greater protection for members

The Pension Schemes Bill 2016 – published on 20 October – includes new regulatory requirements for master trusts. These provisions, which cover authorisation, supervision and winding up, have come about largely because of Government and Pensions Regulator concern to protect member benefits if a master trust were to fail.  Read more

Bridging pensions: aligning your benefits

Many schemes include provision for reducing the scheme pension when a member reaches state retirement age. The usual intention of a bridging pension is to provide a consistent income before and after the state retirement pension comes into payment. With the changes in state pension age for both men and women and the introduction of the new state pension from 6 April 2016, many scheme rules may not now operate as intended. Read more

Bankruptcy: pension rights protected

The pension flexibilities introduced in April 2015 have complicated the already thorny issue of the treatment of pension rights on bankruptcy. We now have the decision of the Court of Appeal in Horton v Henry which clarifies the position to some extent.  Read more

Pensions round-up: VAT, annuities and exit charges

There have been a few developments in recent weeks which are worth noting including the extension of current practice on VAT, the abandonment of the secondary annuity market and a proposed charge cap on exit fees.  Read more

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.