gunnercooke LLP

This Practice Note covers the legal requirements relating to the establishment, maintenance and winding-up of stakeholder pension schemes, including registration, the charging regime, with-profit funds, appointment of a reporting accountant, disclosure of information to members, the annual declaration, the annual statement, investment of funds, investment advice, the statement of investment principles, winding-up provisions, and terms for transfers in a winding-up. This Practice Note also covers the specific legal requirements that apply to trust-based stakeholder pension schemes.

This Practice Note considers the extent to which accrued pension rights under registered occupational pension schemes can be surrendered or forfeited. In particular, this Practice Note looks at the Pensions Act 1995, ss 91–93, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations 1997 SI 1997/785, and the case IMG v German.

This Practice Note examines the powers of the Pensions Regulator to suspend or prohibit trustees of occupational pension schemes, and the statutory grounds on which an individual or other legal person may be disqualified from acting as a trustee of an occupational pension scheme.

This Practice Note covers the operation of the pension tax regime’s annual allowance (AA) and money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) rules under the Finance Act 2004. The annual allowance has applied from the tax year 6 April 2006 onwards. This Practice Note also covers annual allowance tapering from 6 April 2016, the three-year carry forward (also known as ‘carry over’) rules, the annual allowance charge, the circumstances in which the charge does not arise, pension input periods and pension input amounts, scheme pays, the deferred member exemption, pension savings statements, the reporting requirements relating to the annual allowance and the transitional annual allowance rules applicable to the tax year 2015/16.

This Practice Note covers the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF), which was established as a statutory fund under section 188 of the Pensions Act 2004 for the purpose of providing compensation to the trustees or scheme managers of occupational pension schemes where the value of a scheme's assets has suffered a reduction attributable to an act or omission constituting an offence of dishonesty. In particular, this Practice Note looks at the obligation to make fraud compensation payments, the funding of the FCF, and the availability of the FCF to pension liberation victims following the High Court’s decision in Board of the PPF v Dalriada Trustees.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It explains the operation of the lifetime allowance (LTA) regime before its abolition on 6 April 2024, including when and how the lifetime allowance was tested and the lifetime allowance charge. It also looks at the circumstances in which individuals would have applied for protection against reductions in the lifetime allowance figure (including through enhanced protection, primary protection, fixed protection and individual protection).

This Practice Note explains the rationale for the introduction of the Lifetime ISA, the relevant legal framework, the key characteristics of the Lifetime ISA, including the 25% bonus paid by the government, and the circumstances in which a withdrawal may be made from a Lifetime ISA without a 25% charge being applied.

This Practice Note looks at the use of the terms ‘associate’ and ‘connected’ in the pensions arena—terms defined for the purposes of the Insolvency Act 1986, ss 249 and 435.

This Practice Note provides an introduction for persons who are new to Pensions law to the Pensions Ombudsman, in particular the role of the Ombudsman, who can bring a complaint before the Ombudsman and how it is done, the types of complaints/disputes that cannot be determined, the Ombudsman’s powers of redress, and how to appeal decisions made by the Ombudsman.

This Practice Note provides an introduction for persons who are new to pensions law to the Pensions Regulator, in particular its role, the duty to report to the Pensions Regulator and the Pensions Regulator’s powers, including its moral hazard powers, ie the power to issue a contribution notice or a financial support direction. This Practice Note also looks at the ability for one or more parties to apply for clearance from the Pensions Regulator to protect themselves from the risk that the Pensions Regulator might exercise its moral hazard powers against them.

This Practice Note summarises the various powers of the Pensions Regulator. This Practice Note also looks at proposals to extend the Pensions Regulator’s powers.

This Practice Note looks at who the Pensions Regulator is, what it does and its legislative objectives. It also covers the requirement for the Pensions Regulator to establish the non-executive committee (to enable it to discharge its non-executive functions) and the Determinations Panel (to exercise its ‘reserved regulatory functions’). The Practice Note also identifies the various codes of practice issued by the Regulator, looks at the jurisdiction of the Pensions Regulator Tribunal and the call for a single pensions regulator.

This Practice Note covers the different ways in which occupational pension scheme assets can be invested, including shares (equities), bonds, cash, real property, derivatives and collective investments. This note also looks at applicable requirements and restrictions, whether under statute, trust law or the trust deed and rules of the scheme.

This Practice Note provides an introduction for persons who are new to Pensions law to the different types of pension schemes (or pension arrangements) in the UK, including the state pension, private sector pensions, workplace pensions, occupational pension schemes, hybrid schemes, cash balance schemes, employer-financed retirement benefit schemes (EFRBS), personal pension schemes, self-employed pensions, and public sector pension schemes.

This Practice Note looks at the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) (referred to as the workplace pension set up by government) as a means by which an employer can satisfy its enrolment duties under the automatic enrolment legislation. In particular, the Practice Note sets out the key aspects of NEST, covering its nature and governance and how NEST operates, including participation by employers, contributions, transfers, investments and benefit structure.

This Practice Note introduces the concepts of Web 3.0, digital assets and cryptoassets. Regulators and tax authorities, as well as commentators, refer variously to cryptoassets, digital currencies, virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies and crypto tokens/digital tokens, and it is not always clear whether they are using the terms interchangeably or with the specific meaning of each in mind. In this Practice Note, the term ‘cryptoasset’ is used as a generic term for cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, virtual assets or digital tokens. A virtual currency is a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, rarely attached to a fiat currency, but is accepted by a growing number of natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically. Cryptocurrencies are virtual currencies which are secured using cryptography. Virtual and cryptocurrencies are distinguishable from money that derives its value from government regulation or law (fiat currency). These non-traditional currencies are also distinguishable from electronic money (e-money) which is the digital representation of fiat currency. Cryptocurrencies are decentralised and convertible. Examples of cryptocurrency include Bitcoin, Ethererium and Lifecoin. Digital tokens are second generation applications of blockchain technology that go beyond the functionality of cryptocurrencies.

This Practice Note looks at the restrictions on the reduction of a person’s pension entitlement under an ongoing registered defined benefit pension scheme, in particular the provisions of sections 91–93 and section 67 of the Pensions Act 1995, and the provisions of the scheme’s governing documentation. It also looks at how reducing a pension in payment is treated under the pensions tax regime and at some examples of common scenarios in which pensions reduction can occur.

This Precedent contains pension clauses suitable for a contract of employment or employment agreement. What type of clause is relevant depends on the pension arrangements provided by an employer to its employees. This could involve automatic enrolment into an occupational pension scheme, a group personal pension plan or nominated personal pension scheme to which the employer contributes, or a statement that the employer will comply with its obligations in relation to auto-enrolment.