DWP starts to sketch out the implications of the guidance guarantee for trustees
Following July’s government response to the “Freedom and choice in pensions” consultation paper (see Pensions Bulletin 2014/30), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been involved in further discussions regarding the guidance guarantee and in particular in relation to its implications for pension scheme trustees.
In broad terms, the DWP wishes to follow the FCA regulations for contract-based schemes as closely as possible. As a result, pension scheme trustees could see new requirements for them to:
- Refer to the guidance guarantee whenever they communicate with members about DC pensions
- Provide certain information for members who indicate they would like to access their DC pension pot
Bearing in mind that members are intended to be able to access the guidance an unlimited amount of times, there is meant to be an exemption from providing the information if they have been issued with the “wake-up pack” information in the last 12 months. That could still mean providing information at slightly longer than yearly intervals.
The level of information that might need to be provided to members is not yet clear, but clearly could have a significant impact on the cost of implementing the proposed changes. The DWP is keen to receive indications of expected costs from schemes as other government departments have so far assumed them to be trivial.
Pensions Ombudsman delays liberation decisions
Those of you awaiting the Pensions Ombudsman’s final decisions on the pensions liberation cases it is investigating will have to wait still longer after the Ombudsman announced last week that its decisions would not start being published until sometime in the Autumn.
When the Ombudsman announced it was investigating these cases back in February (see Pensions Bulletin 2014/07) it was expected verdicts would be available in April/May. The timescale was first pushed back to not before July and has now become Autumn due to the complexity of the situations involved, with additional details on both the transferring and receiving schemes required in many cases.
This Pensions Bulletin does not constitute advice, nor should it be taken as an authoritative statement of the law. For further help, please contact David Everett at our London office or the partner who normally advises you.
