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We are delighted to announce that Censeo has teamed up with HamishWilson Limited – a similarly-sized firm we have known and respected for a considerable time.  Having been working towards the merger for some time now, completing the deal during the Covid-19 lockdown was interesting, to say the least! We share the same ethos and […]

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, delivered his first Budget on 11 March.  Understandably, the main focus was on assistance to companies and to individuals in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.  However, there were a few measures related to pensions that featured in the Budget. Annual Allowance taper tantrum For individuals whose earned income, including employee […]

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) has published its long-awaited guidance regarding the tax treatment of additional benefits granted to pension scheme members when schemes equalise for the effect of unequal (between men and women) Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (“GMP”). This guidance does not cover GMP conversion, nor the treatment of lump sum and death benefit […]

Introduction The 2020/21 year is the last year of the current triennium, during which the PPF aims to keep the calculation of the levy it charges defined benefit schemes stable.  Ahead of the next triennium it has appointed Dun & Bradstreet as its insolvency risk provider and consulted on some elements of the calculation of […]

The Pension Schemes Bill made it to its second reading before it had to be shelved when the General Election was called.  However, it has now been reintroduced, in the House of Lords, in much the same form, with only minor changes to wording in some places.  The Bill covers: powers for the Pensions Regulator, […]

The Pension Protection Fund (“PPF”) has issued its determination on the calculation of the levy for the 2020-21 year.  This is the final year of the current triennium, so no major changes are proposed. The PPF expects to collect £620 million in levies in 2020-21.  This is based on keeping the levy parameters (the Levy […]

The Pensions Administration Standards Association (“PASA”) has issued guidance for trustees on equalising benefits to reflect unequal Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (“GMPs”) including “good practice” approaches to deal with a number of common issues not addressed by the High Court in the Lloyds judgment. The guidance notes that complexities arise from: missing or incomplete data, the […]

The Pensions Regulator has updated its guidance on investment for trustees of defined benefit pension schemes.  Our note on the original guidance may be found here.  In this note we describe the changes in the new guidance. Fiduciary management Some schemes use “fiduciary management” (also known as delegated consulting).  This is a governance model which […]

The Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) has published a consultation document setting out its proposals to improve the quality of governance in occupational pension schemes. TPR notes that its annual surveys of schemes reveal that smaller defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) schemes are less likely to meet the governance standards that TPR expects.  A thematic […]

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published the Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019, the package of remedies arising from its market investigation into investment consultancy and fiduciary management. Mandatory tendering for Fiduciary Management With effect from 10 December 2019 trustees of schemes who plan to appoint a fiduciary manager to […]