ARTICLE
24 January 2025

Pensions: What's New This Week - January 20, 2025

AO
A&O Shearman

Contributor

A&O Shearman was formed in 2024 via the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. With nearly 4,000 lawyers globally, we are equally fluent in English law, U.S. law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets. This combination creates a new kind of law firm, one built to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients on their most complex, multijurisdictional matters – everywhere in the world. A firm that advises at the forefront of the forces changing the current of global business and that is unrivalled in its global strength. Our clients benefit from the collective experience of teams who work with many of the world’s most influential companies and institutions, and have a history of precedent-setting innovations. Together our lawyers advise more than a third of NYSE-listed businesses, a fifth of the NASDAQ and a notable proportion of the London Stock Exchange, the Euronext, Euronext Paris and the Tokyo and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
Pension schemes are currently exempt from clearing requirements for over-the-counter derivatives under UK EMIR.
European Union Employment and HR

Welcome to your weekly update from the A&O Shearman pensions team, covering all the latest legal and regulatory developments in the world of workplace pensions.

Government confirms continuation of clearing exemption

Pension schemes are currently exempt from clearing requirements for over-the-counter derivatives under UK EMIR. This exemption lasts until June 18, 2025 (note: this relates to the UK clearing exemption only; the similar EU exemption for European pension scheme arrangements has already ended).

Following a call for evidence, the government has now confirmed that it will take forward secondary legislation to ensure that the exemption does not expire as currently scheduled, and to remove any further time limit on the exemption. Responses to the call for evidence suggested that mandatory clearing would require pension schemes and asset managers to increase their cash holdings, reducing the ability to invest in illiquid assets, and that removing the exemption could make market stress events worse by increasing liquidity pressures.

Read the response on the pension fund clearing exemption.

Save the date: pensions academy online, March 11 and 13, 2025

Our next Pensions Academy Online webinars will take place on Tuesday March, 11 and Thursday March 13, 2025. Each webinar begins at 9.30am and will last approximately one hour. Invitations will follow shortly for:

  • Cyber risks and mitigations in the pensions world – Tuesday March 11: members of our specialist cyber team will share insights on mitigating the risks (and, in the worst case scenario, dealing with the aftermath) of cyber breaches. How can pension scheme trustees be better equipped to deal with this pervasive and ever-evolving threat?
  • Legal update – Thursday March 13: we'll round up all the latest developments and outline what's on the pensions horizon.

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.

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