Dependants’ scheme pension meaning

Original news Mr K (CAS-44560-Q1C8)—12 September 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman upheld a complaint concerning a scheme’s inadequate due diligence on a high-risk investment. The professional trustee was found to have breached both common law and statutory duties by committing funds to storage pods and airport parking. As the investments lacked diversification and were overly speculative, no reasonable trustee would have proceeded. The determination underscores that a professional trustee can be accountable for investment losses even where the member was heavily engaged in making the decision... What were the facts? Mr K was a member of the Blick-Horsham Limited Executive Pension Scheme (the Scheme), a small self-administered scheme (SSAS). The Scheme’s trustees were Rowanmoor Trustees Limited (RTL) and Mr K. He proposed investing in storage pods and airport parking via Store First Limited (Store) and Park First Limited (Park). In February 2015, RTL warned Mr K that the proposed investments featured a two-year break clause and advised him to consider how a replacement tenant might be...

Original news Mr S (CAS-78433-Y1Y8)—18 February 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld a complaint concerning a pension scheme’s inadequate and insufficient due diligence processes before entering into a high‑risk property investment. The investment was speculative and lacked any diversification. No prudent trustee would ever have pursued such an investment. The case clearly highlights that a professional trustee may still be liable for poor investment choices even where the complainant is a co‑trustee. What were the facts? Mr S was the only member and a co‑trustee of the Mr S Limited Executive Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme’s trustees were Rowanmoor Trustees Limited (RTL) alongside Mr S. Under the Scheme rules, trustee decisions had to be unanimous. At Mr S’s request, and without legal advice, the Scheme invested a large proportion of its assets in a German property company, including via loan notes. Sadly, the investment proved worthless...

LCP stated that HSBC, NatWest, BP the oil giant, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group together held over £20bn of the FTSE100’s £40bn pension scheme surplus at the end of December 2024. The average surplus for firms with a UK defined benefit pension plan on that index is £600m, the consultancy added. Funding surpluses in defined benefit arrangements have surged—a stance LCP says is set to endure. The adviser also noted there has been an overall surplus across the UK’s top 100 companies for five consecutive years, and that 80% of that cohort with a defined benefit pension workplace savings scheme reported a surplus at their 2024 balance according to LCP at year-end 2024...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE 1 : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will raise the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, except for members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes. This increase applies broadly across registered schemes, subject to the stated exemptions. The same Act will also permit members of registered pension schemes to access benefits before 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they either held an ‘unqualified right’ to draw benefits, or were already engaged in a substantive transfer to a scheme providing an unqualified right to a protected pension age below 57 on or before 4 November 2021. To rely on this new protection applying in 2028, the scheme’s rules must, as at 11 February 2021, have contained an unqualified right to take entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For more detail, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact. FORTHCOMING CHANGE 2 : The Pension...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUST-BASED OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES Trustees can face personal liability if a breach of trust leads to loss for the pension scheme. This may arise where trustees: operate beyond the powers set out in the scheme’s trust deed and rules, or fail to comply with legislation or the law of trusts. Trustees should ensure that sufficient safeguards exist to protect them against personal liability. With pensions legislation becoming increasingly complex, trustees who do not seek appropriate advice and who lack the necessary knowledge and skills are liable to make errors when administering pension schemes. Directors of a corporate trustee are generally considered to have stronger protection from personal liability than individual trustees. In the absence of dishonesty, the court is unlikely to permit a claim against those directors for a breach of trust by the trustee company, mainly because of the operation of the ‘corporate veil’, discussed further below (see: Protection for directors of trustee companies)...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It sets out the different iterations of HMRC and DHSC guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) released over time, and supplies tracked-change comparisons highlighting alterations from one update to the next, so practitioners can quickly determine which version of the relevant guidance applied on any given date. For a guidance tracker: covering the successive versions of HMRC guidance on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), see Practice Note: Self-Employment Income Support Scheme—guidance tracker [Archived] covering the successive versions of general guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19), see Practice Notes: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—guidance tracker for employment (non-BEIS guidance) [Archived] and Coronavirus (COVID-19)—guidance tracker for employment (BEIS working safely guidance to 18 July 2021) [Archived] Separate sections of the Practice Note cover: Treasury Direction Guidance for employers: Check if you can claim for your employees’ wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Check which employees you can...

In the Employment Tribunals Case number: [ Insert case number ] Between: [ Insert name of claimant ] (Claimant) and [ Insert name of respondent ] (Respondent) Claimant's schedule of loss 1. Details Net basic pay per week (after deductions): £[ Insert amount ] Respondent’s yearly pension contributions/annual pension entitlement: [ [ Insert amount, e.g. £x ] OR [ Insert details of pension scheme, e.g. 1/80 final salary scheme with related lump sum ] ] Yearly value of bonus/other employment perks: £[ Insert amount ] Notice period under the contract: [ Insert period, e.g. x weeks or x months ] Claimant’s date of birth: [ Insert date ] Date employment ended: [ [ Insert date ] ] Age at termination: [ [ Insert age ] ] 2. ...

This precedent has been produced on the basis that the drafter is acting for the buyer. The following warranties have been prepared for a transaction where: The Buyer will provide pension benefits through its own arrangement or via an appointed provider; and Employees’ past service benefits will not be transferred to the Buyer’s arrangement. You are strongly advised to involve a pensions specialist at the earliest opportunity. 1 Definitions For the purposes of paragraphs 2 to 7 inclusive: Employee means [ [specify as necessary, either by category or by named individuals ]; Pension Scheme [ s ] mean [ s ] [ [ name(s) of scheme(s) ] OR an arrangement or practice for the payment of, or contribution towards, an annuity, pension, lump sum, gratuity or similar benefit to be given on retirement, long-term ill-health or death, or pursuant to a pension sharing order, in relation to the service or historic service of an Employee or any other person, or...

This precedent is prepared on the footing that the drafter acts for the Seller. It is prepared on the basis that the target company (the Company) is a subsidiary of the Seller. It is strongly recommended that a pensions specialist is engaged at the earliest opportunity. 1 Definitions For the purposes of paragraphs 2 to 12 (inclusive), the following definitions set out below shall apply: Employee means any current or former employee, officer, or director of the Company [ or of any Group Company ] [ and any other individual involved in the management of the Company’s affairs ] ; Pension Scheme means any arrangement or practice providing for, or contributing towards, an annuity, pension, lump sum, gratuity, or similar benefit on retirement, long-term ill-health, or death, or pursuant to a pension sharing order, arising from the service or historic service of an Employee or any other person, or for the benefit of that individual’s dependants; and Pension Schemes shall be construed accordingly......