Insight
Pensions: what's new this week - August 27, 2024
Details of government pensions review published
The government has published the Terms of Reference for its wider pensions review. The first phase has already begun and focuses on investment and on developing policy in four areas: (i) scale and consolidation in DC schemes; (ii) the structure of the pensions ecosystem, with a focus on value and outcomes rather than cost; (iii) encouraging productive investment in UK assets; and (iv) tackling fragmentation and inefficiency in the Local Government Pension Scheme. Initial findings will be reported ahead of the introduction of the Pension Schemes Bill.
The second phase will start later this year, and alongside investment will consider further steps to improve pension outcomes, including assessing retirement adequacy. The government states that ongoing policy development in relation to DB schemes will remain separate from the review.
Pensions Dashboards – code of connection
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has published an updated draft of its code of connection. This sets out how pension schemes and dashboards providers will connect to the dashboards ecosystem and the security, service and operational standards applicable to ecosystem participants.
For pension schemes connecting to dashboards via a third-party provider, the legal obligations will apply to the trustees of the scheme but in practice the standards will be implemented by the provider on their behalf. Schemes should be aware of the standards and build them into their dashboards preparation.
Although the standard remains a draft until approved by the Secretary of State, the PDP recommends that schemes align with this version while preparing for connection.
Save the date: Pensions Academy Online, 17 and 19 September 2024
Our next Pensions Academy Online webinars will take place on Tuesday 17 and Thursday 19 September 2024. Each webinar begins at 9.30am and will last approximately one hour. Join us for:
- Legal update – Tuesday 17 September: we’ll round up all the latest developments and outline what’s coming in the new Pension Schemes Bill and wider pensions review, as well as highlighting some significant decisions from the Pensions Ombudsman and the Court of Appeal.
- Dilemmas for DB Trustees – Thursday 19 September: in this session we will look at the challenges and choices on the agendas of DB trustee boards: asset allocation and changes to surplus rules; run-on or endgame; buy-in, buy-out or consolidate?
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