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Designated scheme meaning

What does Designated scheme mean?
In practice, a designated scheme is the stakeholder pension scheme an employer selects to make available to employees, historically to satisfy the employer’s stakeholder access duty. In UK pensions law (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), the term is used in legislation and regulatory guidance made under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 and the Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations. Since the introduction of automatic enrolment under the Pensions Act 2008, the requirement to designate a stakeholder scheme has largely been removed (from October 2012), but the term remains relevant in legacy arrangements and scheme documentation. Key features include: the employer’s choice of a compliant stakeholder pension provider; facilitation of payroll deductions and provision of information to staff; and no automatic obligation on the employer to contribute unless contractually agreed or required under separate automatic enrolment duties. Designation does not convert the arrangement into an occupational pension scheme or make the employer a scheme trustee or sponsor. In Ireland, the closest equivalent is a designated PRSA under the Pensions Act 1990, where employers without an occupational pension must appoint at least one Standard PRSA provider and facilitate payroll deductions. The practical effect is analogous, though the statutory term is “designated PRSA”,...
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NEWS
Restructuring and Insolvency weekly: ECCTA AML data-sharing guidance, unlicensed insolvency winding-up, IPA COVID repayments, English/Irish case law, NSIA consultation, Companies House changes, and new resources

Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights—9 October 2025 In this issue: Key R&I developments Corporate insolvency processes Directors and insolvency International restructuring and insolvency Daily and weekly news alerts Key dates for restructuring and insolvency professionals New content New Q&As Key R&I developments Government departments update ECCTA guidance on AML information sharing measures Guidance on information‑sharing measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023 has been refreshed by the Home Office, HM Treasury, the Ministry of Justice, Companies House, the Serious Fraud Office and the Department for Business and Trade. Released on 3 October 2025, it explains how anti‑money laundering regulated firms (AML regulated firms) can pass customer data either directly or via third‑party intermediaries to prevent, detect and investigate economic crime. It addresses the warning and request conditions for disclosures made under the direct sharing route, practical issues such as cross‑sector sharing mechanisms, and obligations concerning reports to law enforcement, UK...

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NEWS
Weekly financial services regulatory round-up: prudential, financial crime and sanctions, enforcement, capital markets, ESG, banking, insurance, MiFID II, consumer credit, payments, pensions dashboards, and key dates — 14 November 2024

In this issue: Prudential requirements Financial crime and sanctions Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of capital markets Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management UK MiFID II Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance FSMA regulated pensions activity Payment services and systems Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Prudential requirements COREPER asked to endorse agreement on CCP concentration risk treatment After the European Parliament adopted, in April 2024, a proposal for a directive of the Parliament and the Council to amend Directive 2009/65/EC (UCITS), Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV) and the Investment Firms Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (IFD), the Council of the EU’s General Secretariat released an ‘I/A’ Item Note inviting the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) to confirm its agreement...

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NEWS
EU financial services round-up: MAR Level 2 amendment, Retail Investment Strategy provisional agreement, DORA scope, VOP consultation, EBA equivalence, ESMA internal controls and LMTs (18 December 2025)

EU financial services developments Commission publishes draft amendment to MAR level 2 measure The European Commission has released a draft modification to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/522, a level 2 instrument under Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR). Feedback is invited until 14 January 2026. The proposal would amend Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/522 to: create a list of designated trading venues to implement the order data exchange mechanism in Article 25a of MAR for shares; and revise Annex II on practices outlining indicators of market manipulation, reflecting technological advances such as algorithmic trading, and correcting several erroneous cross-references Source: Consultation: Clarifications to the indicators of market manipulation and definition of scope of new order data exchange mechanism Council of EU and European Parliament agree Retail Investment Strategy measures The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have announced agreement on a directive amending MiFID II, Solvency II, the UCITS Directive and AIFMD, and on a regulation amending the PRIIPs Regulation....

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PRACTICE NOTES
LGPS in England and Wales: framework, governance, funding, investment pooling, employer participation, contributions and benefits—current law and forthcoming reforms

FORTHCOMING CHANGE 1 : On 1 September 2022, the DLUHC opened a consultation proposing new duties for the LGPS to oversee and disclose climate-related risks, including the carbon emissions tied to their investments. The LGPS is the UK’s largest public sector pension scheme, covering 6.2 million members and holding £342bn in assets worldwide. Under the government’s plans, administering authorities would be required to: Calculate their carbon footprint; Assess how climate change could influence pension-related assets and liabilities; and Report each year on the extent to which assets align with the 2015 Paris Accords, the international climate treaty adopted by much of the world. This seeks to enhance the management of climate-related financial risk and would bring the LGPS into line with requirements already in force for private pension schemes. The proposals are intended to replicate the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) measures that already apply to the largest private occupational pension schemes and master trusts. The consultation closed...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Stakeholder pension schemes: legal framework for establishment, operation, charging, disclosure, investment and winding-up, and employers’ residual contribution-deduction duties post-2012 automatic enrolment

From 1 October 2012, the duty on employers to nominate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme (as set out in section 3 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999)) ceased, as the new requirement by employers to enrol workers automatically into an automatic enrolment scheme (introduced by the Pensions Act 2008) took effect thereafter. However, unless a relevant exception applies (eg where an employer is notified that a designated stakeholder pension scheme has begun winding up), employers remain under an ongoing obligation, as applicable, in respect of relevant employees, to deduct employee contributions to any existing stakeholder scheme from pay, as appropriate, and forward them to the trustees or managers of the schemes. In addition, both existing and newly created stakeholder pension schemes must continue to be run in line with the statutory requirements applicable to such schemes, as necessary. Ongoing familiarity with the legal requirements governing the establishment, maintenance and eventual winding-up of stakeholder pension schemes is therefore essential, and the purpose of this...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK restricted securities: comparative analysis of ITEPA 2003 s425, s431 and no election—tax/NICs charges, valuation scenarios and CGT base cost

This Practice Note summarises the principal factors and illustrative calculations for deciding whether to elect under section 425 or section 431 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003), or to make no election, on acquiring restricted securities. For further background, see the following Practice Notes: What are restricted securities? Restricted securities—tax treatment and joint elections Guidance on making a valid restricted security election The question of whether a section 425 or section 431 election (or no election) should be made is examined using the example set out below. Factual background An incoming director of a private company pays £100 to subscribe for 100 shares in the company at par, provided as a ‘golden hello’. If, within five years of acquisition, the director does not meet specified performance conditions, resigns voluntarily, or is dismissed (including, but not limited to, for misconduct), the director must transfer the shares to a designated shareholder for an amount equal to the...

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