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There have been two major developments in pensions – the eagerly awaited Pension Schemes Bill has been published and the Government has made an important (and very welcome) announcement on Section 37 certificates.
The key points for trustees and sponsoring employers of occupational pension schemes are summarised below.
The Pension Schemes Bill has been introduced to Parliament. As expected, it includes measures relating to the following:
Defined benefit (DB) schemes
Defined contribution (DC) schemes
This is a significant package of reforms to the UK pensions system. However, the Bill is unlikely to receive Royal Assent before 2026 and most of the measures will require regulations to be consulted on and made before they come into force. The Government has published a roadmap, which sets out the proposed timing of the various measures and indicates that most will come into force in the period from 2027 to 2030. It will therefore be some time before the reforms take effect.
We will track the Bill’s progress through Parliament and keep you updated on developments, as well as taking a deep dive into some of the topics in future publications.
The Government has also confirmed that it will introduce legislation to give schemes affected by the Virgin Media decision (see our previous post for details) the ability to retrospectively obtain written actuarial confirmation that historic benefit changes met the necessary standards. Although much will depend on the precise scope of the legislation and the ability of schemes to meet the requirements, this development will be widely welcomed by trustees and sponsoring employers of schemes previously contracted-out on a salary-related basis.
The change can be made by regulations, so we expect to see regulations laid before Parliament in the near future.
For more information on any of these developments, please speak to your usual Linklaters contact.