Beneficiary (Pensions) meaning

This checklist sets out the requirements for the content of schemes’ annual reports and accounts under the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734. For fuller guidance on the duty on occupational pension schemes to produce annual reports and accounts, see Practice Note: Pension scheme annual reports and accounts. Requirement to prepare and disclose a pension scheme annual report Trustees of an occupational pension scheme meeting the conditions in the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734, Sch 1, Para 1 must produce an annual report no later than seven months following the close of each scheme year. For further details, see: Disclosure requirements for occupational and personal pension schemes—the 2013 disclosure regulations—Scope of the 2013 Disclosure Regulations. The annual report must be provided to any relevant person (that is, a member, prospective member, their spouse or civil partner, a beneficiary or a recognised trade union) who: requests the document within five years...

Original news Mr T (CAS-64304-R5R1)—14 April 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning the distribution of death benefits from a pension scheme. It concluded the scheme administrator’s decision was reasonable, neither irrational nor perverse. The complainant was not named in a supposed will—which was invalid as it lacked witnesses—and was the sole beneficiary of the late member’s estate. Before deciding, the administrator carried out extensive enquiries. This outcome serves as a reminder that trustees and administrators of pension schemes should undertake appropriate enquiries when determining death benefit payments. What were the facts? Mr S was a member of the AJ Bell You Invest Self invested Personal Pension Plan (the Scheme). Following his death, he was survived by, among others, Mr T. Mr T had entered into a civil partnership with Mr S...

In this issue Court of Protection UK taxation for private clients Updates to HMRC Manuals Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Budgets and Finance Bills Private client insolvency Digital and crypto assets Charity and philanthropy Disputed trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax‑efficient investments International Further Private Client updates this week Question of the week News alerts—daily and weekly LexTalk® Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&As Useful information Court of Protection Court rules that an anonymity application under CPR 39.2(4) and section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 must proceed on a statutory basis (PMC (a child by his mother and litigation friend FLR) v Local Health Board) The claimant, a boy born in 2012, pursued a clinical negligence action against an NHS trust for injuries at birth. The claim, issued in March...

In this issue: Budgets and Finance Bills Wills Probate HMRC Manuals updates Insolvency—Private Client Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax‑efficient investments International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk® Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&As Useful information Budgets and Finance Bills Autumn Budget 2024 The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, is scheduled to present the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 30 October 2024. As is our practice, we will provide overnight commentary on the principal business tax measures announced, ready for you on the morning of Thursday 31 October 2024. Budget Responsibility Act 2024 provisions come into force The Budget Responsibility Act 2024 (Commencement) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1026, activate from 15 October 2024 those provisions requiring HM Treasury to obtain an economic and...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Practice Note sets out the disclosure duties that applied to trustees (or, for contract-based occupational pension schemes, scheme managers) up to 5 April 2014 under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 1996, SI 1996/1655 (the 1996 Disclosure Regulations). The 1996 Disclosure Regulations were revoked on 6 April 2014 and therefore have no effect after 5 April 2014. In this Practice Note, references to ‘trustees’ are to be read, in relation to a contract-based occupational pension scheme, as including the scheme’s managers. For details of the disclosure obligations for personal pension schemes up to 5 April 2014 under the Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 1987, SI 1987/1110, see Practice Note: Personal pension schemes—disclosure requirements before 6 April 2014 [Archived]. From 6 April 2014, the disclosure rules for occupational and personal pension schemes were consolidated and harmonised into a single instrument, the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734. For information on the...

A registered pension scheme may provide benefits without an overall ceiling. Nevertheless, under the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004), where a scheme makes an unauthorised payment, tax charges arise for both the recipient and the scheme unless a specific exception applies (though, in certain situations, individuals and companies may seek from HMRC a discharge of liability for those charges where appropriate). For additional detail, see Authorised and unauthorised payments and Unauthorised payments: tax charges and reporting requirements, together with the associated reporting obligations outlined there. Exceptions in special circumstances At times, pension schemes make mistakes that lead to unauthorised payments being issued. There are also situations where making an unauthorised payment is necessary to ensure a beneficiary is treated equitably. Accordingly, there are several exceptions to the standard rules governing unauthorised payments. Such exceptions apply only in particular, defined circumstances...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES ONLY TO DEFINED BENEFIT AND HYBRID OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES Purpose of admissible rules During an assessment period, trustees must run the scheme and provide benefits to members in line with the scheme’s admissible rules, as defined in paragraph 35(2) of Schedule 7 to the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004). The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) issued guidance for trustees on applying those admissible rules during the assessment period, with examples, in the Appendix to the Financial Management section of its Detailed Trustee Guidance. This material was archived when the PPF changed its website in December 2018, but it remains helpful for understanding what counts as an admissible payment. At the end of the assessment period, if the PPF takes responsibility for the scheme and the scheme enters the PPF, the PPF will provide compensation to members and their dependants, determined in accordance with PeA 2004, Sch 7. A member or other beneficiary will be entitled to compensation if they were eligible to receive a benefit...