Workplace pensions : sharing experience

08 November 2018 - Caroline Overton

Flexibility is a good thing – especially for sports professionals, gymnasts, and those of us balancing work and domestic commitments. In a pension context, the increased flexibility introduced by the 2015 freedom and choice reforms has generally been seen as a welcome response to the evolving nature and shape of retirement. The flexibilities have proved › Read More

26 September 2018 - Jason Shaw

Deciding whether, or how much, information to provide to members/employees can be a difficult call for employers and trustees – in some cases there is a clear legal requirement to provide the information, but what if there isn’t? In this context, the dismissal of a recent Pensions Ombudsman complaint about a failure to inform members › Read More

26 September 2018 - Jason Shaw

One question that employers and trustees frequently ask is how far they have to go in providing information or assistance to employees/members, especially as the consequences of a wrong approach can be costly. The answer isn’t always clear, but the Pensions Ombudsman has repeatedly held that where a member is particularly vulnerable – for example › Read More

22 December 2015 - Helen Powell

Two years ago the Pensions Regulator brought in a new Code of Practice on the governance and administration of DC schemes, and trustees and providers started work on ensuring that they were operating in line with its 31 quality features. With almost undignified haste, that Code was overtaken by events, following the introduction of DC › Read More

17 December 2015 - Jason Shaw

It is surprisingly common for there to be mistakes in scheme rules. Quite often, the way those mistakes are remedied is by the employer and/or trustees going to court for rectification of the erroneous provisions. Occasionally, however, it may be possible for trustees to take advantage of an alternative, and cheaper, procedure provided for under › Read More