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The Government has announced a delay to the timetable for rolling out auto-enrolment.  Employers with more than 3,000 jobholders will be unaffected but those with fewer employees will not have to auto-enrol their employees until later than originally scheduled.  Employers with fewer than 50 employees will not have to auto-enrol their workers until 2025 or […]

The National Insurance contribution rebates available to members of contracted-out defined benefit pension schemes – and to their employers – are to be reduced with effect from 6 April 2012 from 1.6% to 1.4% (for the employee) and from 3.7% to 3.4% (for the employer). From the same date the fixed rate of revaluation applied […]

Background If a participating employer ceases to employ any active members in a pension scheme, a “section 75” debt becomes due from that employer, representing his “share” of the difference between the scheme’s assets and the cost of buying out all its liabilities with an insurance company. There are several ways in which employers ceasing […]

The Background On 8 July 2010, the Pensions Minister Steve Webb announced that statutory increases required under occupational pension schemes and the Pension Protection Fund (the “PPF”) would be based on the Consumer Prices Index (the “CPI”) from 1 January 2011, rather than the Retail Prices Index (the “RPI”). Final Salary pension schemes are required […]

The Government is consulting on its intention to simplify the State pension system by one of two means: a)bringing forward the date that the (currently earnings-related in part) State Second Pension (S2P) becomes flat-rate or b) combining the Basic State Pension (BSP) and S2P into a flat-rate state pension of about £140 per week in today’s […]

On 1 March 2011 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its ruling in the Test-Achats case.  The ECJ ruled that the use of sex as a factor in calculating premiums and determining benefits payable in private insurance contracts must be abolished. The decision grabbed headlines in the national press on the potential effects on the motor […]

The March Budgets of 2009 and 2010 introduced measures to restrict the amount of pensions “tax relief” granted to higher earners.  For this purpose a “high earner” is broadly anyone whose gross annual income is £130,000 or more.  The restrictions were due to come into force in 2011, although anti-avoidance measures were put in place […]

Introduction In August 2010 the PPF publicised its intention to be self-sufficient (ie not to require further levy payments) by 2030.  Therefore, its plans for the levy in the meantime take this target into account. It has published proposals that are aimed at ensuring that the levy: reflects more appropriately the risk that individual schemes […]

Introduction Over the last few years, some employers who sponsor closed defined benefit schemes have sought to reduce their scheme liabilities by offering members an incentive to transfer their benefit entitlement out of the scheme.  The incentive may be either a cash sum or an enhancement to the transfer value offered.  The member loses his […]

The Pensions Act 2008 introduced a requirement for employers to offer their workers a pension arrangement – with compulsory contributions – with effect from 2012.  The actual date the requirement comes into effect varies by employer, with generally larger employers having to comply earlier.  However, the principle for all employers is that they will have […]