Assessing the value of pensions promises – parent company guarantees

By Kirsty Bartlett on April 3, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

Guarantee Stamp

The Pensions Regulator’s 27 March guidance emphasised the need for trustees of defined benefit pension schemes to engage with their sponsoring employers to understand the implications of the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic for their scheme’s employer covenant. Where employers seek reduced or suspended contributions, although the focus will naturally be on the scheme’s direct participating employers and ensuring there is no leakage in terms of dividend payments or other outflow, trustees should not neglect any parent company guarantors in their assessment of the covenant. Continue Reading

Top 10 Employee Benefits Issues in a Slowing Economy

By Matthew Secrist on March 20, 2020 Posted in Employee benefits, Employment Tax, US, US retirement plans

Plan B Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), commonly known as the “coronavirus” has raised many challenges for businesses. Among those challenges are the variety of employee related issues being raised. In addition to complying with various employment laws, including the new emergency leave laws and tax credits (see our blog), employers also have to consider the impact on their employee benefit plans. From privacy concerns related to sharing employee COVID-19 information to employee access to retirement funds, COVID-19 creates many questions for human resources professionals.

Our alert (Top 10 Employee Benefits Issues in a Slowing Economy) was prepared by a cross-functional team of privacy, labor and employment and ERISA/employee benefits specialists with the intent to provide a list of some of these concerns to start the discussion regarding the COVID-19 impact on employee benefits.

PPF Puts in Place Practical Policies

By Catherine McKenna on March 20, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has issued what might be the first of several coronavirus announcements. The first announcement provides information for trustees who are seeking to certify or re-certify contingent assets before the 31 March deadline. With immediate effect, trustees who are required to submit hard copy documents with their contingent asset certification/re-certification, should instead scan and send copies of those documents to information@ppf.co.uk. The file size needs to be less than 10MB. If you need to split the documents in order to achieve an acceptable file size, you should make clear that the documents are linked. Continue Reading

COVID-19 Pensions Business Planning

By Clifford Sims on March 10, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

Woman using laptop surrounded by paperwork

Whether you are more in the Mary Poppins or Corporal Jones camp when it comes to dealing with unexpected emergencies like the Coronavirus outbreak, the choice between taking minimal precautions for continuing business operations as normal and panicking is not very palatable. Pension fund operations are highly complex and, just like their counterparts in the commercial world, involve the integration of many parties who to some degree all rely upon each other to keep a basic service (of paying pensions) going. With different organisations adopting different strategies to cope in the current crisis, what should pension funds be doing? Continue Reading

The Early Bird Catches The Worm

By Claire Dimmock and Chris Harper on March 6, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

In October 2019 pension trustees’ investment duties were expanded. Further changes will take place from 1 October 2020, which will affect defined benefit (DB), defined contribution (DC) and hybrid pension schemes. In order to be in a position to comply with those duties, trustees will need to take action now. Trustees not only need to revise their statement of investment principles (SIP) (again) and publish it but also need to report on how they have implemented their policies. The implementation report may need to include a description of trustees’ activities before 1 October 2020. Continue Reading

Taxation of UK Termination Payments: Don’t be an April Fool

By Emma Perez and Mark Simpson on March 2, 2020 Posted in Employment Tax, Executive Remuneration

With most employer’s minds currently focused on the upcoming changes to the IR35 regime, it’s important they do not forget about forthcoming updates to the tax treatment of termination payments which are also due to take effect next month.

Employer’s NIC on Termination payments

Currently, the only tax on termination payments made to employees to compensate them for their loss of office is income tax where the payment exceeds £30,000. The tax charged is payable on the excess. From 6 April 2020, as well as income tax on payments exceeding the threshold, employer’s Class 1A National Insurance contributions (NICs) will also be due. This additional cost should be taken into account when negotiating settlements and will need to be reported through the PAYE/Real Time Information process.

Employers should note that the NICs liability will not apply to any termination awards paid after 5 April 2020 in respect of employment which was terminated before 6 April 2020. Employers intending to dismiss an employee and paying a termination payment in excess of £30,000 may therefore want to ensure the termination date falls before 6 April, as this could result in a significant NICs saving.

Ticket to Accreditation – Choices for Professional Pension Trustees

By Catherine McKenna on February 17, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

Buses in busy traffic

It turns out that accreditation systems are like buses – you wait patiently for what seems like ages, and then two come along at once.

Many in the pensions industry were surprised by the Pensions Management Institute’s (PMI) announcement on 13 February that it has launched an accreditation system for professional pension trustees. This followed press reports on 11 February that the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) would be launching its accreditation programme in April. (This was originally planned for last summer.) Both of these programmes will follow the standards published by the Professional Trustee Standards Working Group in 2019.

The PMI’s accreditation will be open for applications from 24 February. The APPT has not yet confirmed the date from which it will accept applications, but the press has reported that this will be in April. Continue Reading

The Tortoise and the Hare approach to pensions change

By Lynn Housecroft on February 12, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

tortoise and hare race

If you were expecting The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) response to consultation on the Future of Trusteeship and Governance to create headline news, then you will have been disappointed.

The response feels like more of a “holding document”, designed to let the pensions industry know that TPR has taken away a lot of action points but needs time to address its “to do” list.

Speed is not always a good thing. Some of us remember the desire for rapid change following the Maxwell scandal in the early 1990s, when the government and the pensions industry were buzzing with the need to “do something”. The “somethings” were largely enshrined in the Pensions Act 1995 – and it is fair to say that some of the somethings did not stand the test of time. Remember the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority? And the Minimum Funding Requirement? Many provisions of the revolutionary Pensions Act 1995 were abolished or amended by the Pensions Act 2004. Continue Reading

Stewardship Code – A Long Engagement

By Felix Weston on February 7, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

couple on beach at sunset

Unlike the best romantic stories, this proposal was expected, grounded in practicalities and wholly lacking in passion. Part of it was borne from the principle that pension trustees and investment managers should develop a closer working relationship.

The Need for a Committed Relationship

Responsible investment and investment stewardship are hot topics at the moment in the pensions world. Trustees need to not only ensure their decision making takes into account responsible investment and ESG factors, but also that they can publicly account for their actions. Continue Reading

IR35 Reforms – A Taxing Time for Pension Trustees and Corporate Sponsors

By Wendy Hunter and Mark Simpson on January 31, 2020 Posted in UK Pensions

IR35

The off-payroll tax rules (commonly known as IR35) are changing on 6 April 2020. Pension trustees who have members of their board paid for their services through a personal service company (PSC) may need to start making those payments net of income tax and NICs under PAYE. Although the rules have not been finalised (and HMRC are now reviewing some operational aspects), now is the time for trustee boards and corporate sponsors of pension schemes to check any arrangements involving PSCs to assess whether they need to take action. Continue Reading