The Pensions Brief: September 2020

Published date07 October 2020
Subject MatterEmployment and HR, Retirement, Superannuation & Pensions, Employee Benefits & Compensation
Law FirmMayer Brown
AuthorMr Richard Evans and Liam Kellett

At a glance...

Issues affecting all schemes

COVID-19

Contribution payment failure period to return to 90 days

PLSA VOTE REPORTING TEMPLATES

The PLSA has published vote reporting templates to assist with implementation statements

INVESTMENT LOSS CAUSED BY TRANSFER DELAY

The Pensions Ombudsman awards significant compensation

PENSION SCHEMES BILL UPDATE

Second reading in the House of Commons to take place on 7 October 2020 NORMAL MINIMUM PENSION

NORMAL MINIMUM PENSION AGE INCREASE

Confirmation that normal minimum pension age to rise from 55 to 57 in 2028

COLD-CALLING PENALTY

The Information Commissioner's Office issues a substantial penalty for pensions cold-calling

STATE PENSION AGE CHALLENGE REJECTED

The Court of Appeal dismisses "Backto60" campaigners' appeal

Issues affecting DB schemes

2021/22 PPF LEVY DETERMINATION CONSULTATION

The PPF has published its draft levy determination for the 2021/22 levy year

Issues affecting all schemes

Coronavirus (COVID-19) - contribution payment failure period reverts to 90 days

The Pensions Regulator has updated its guidance on reporting duties and enforcement activity during COVID-19 to say that from 1 January 2021 pension scheme providers and trustees should revert to reporting payment failures that are 90 days outstanding, rather than 150 days.

Action

Trustees and administrators need to take note of this and ensure that, where any processes were amended to reflect the reporting flexibility granted, those processes revert to their previous state from 1 January 2021.

PLSA publishes vote reporting templates

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has published vote reporting templates to help pension schemes meet their stewardship duties. These templates accompany guidance issued by the PLSA in July 2020.

From 1 October 2020, implementation statements are required to be included in schemes' annual reports and accounts. The implementation statement must, amongst other things, describe the voting behaviour by, or on behalf of, the trustees during the scheme year, and must state where any proxy voter services have been used.

The PLSA has published two sets of templates and guidance - one for use by pension schemes, and one for use by their underlying investment managers. This is with the aim of achieving consistent and uniform reporting of the required information.

Action

Trustees may want to use the PLSA guidance and templates when producing implementation statements.

Investment loss caused by transfer delay

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