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Executive pension plan meaning

What does Executive pension plan mean?
An executive pension plan is an employer-sponsored, insured occupational defined contribution arrangement used in practice to provide pension and related benefits for company directors and senior employees. The employer typically establishes a trust and purchases a separate insurance policy for each member, with that policy earmarked to secure that member’s benefits. The term is a descriptive market label rather than one defined by statute or case law. Across the UK (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), an executive pension plan is usually an HMRC-registered occupational scheme funded mainly by employer contributions (with optional member contributions), invested through an insurer’s funds and often bundled with death-in-service cover. Trustees are responsible for governance. While still encountered, many employers now prefer group personal pensions or master trusts. In Ireland, the term commonly refers to a Revenue-approved occupational pension scheme, frequently a one-member arrangement for a proprietary director. Following IORP II implementation, new trust-based one‑member schemes must meet enhanced governance requirements; in practice, many new executive benefits are provided via master trusts or PRSAs. Key features: insured, trust-based, policy-by-policy benefits earmarked per member; designed for senior staff; subject to tax approval/registration and applicable contribution and benefit limits in the relevant jurisdiction.
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View the related News about Executive pension plan

NEWS
TPR penalises 19 small DC schemes for value for members non-compliance; £98,000 fines, benchmarking and consolidation expectations under Reg 25 highlighted

In its press release, TPR urged trustees of smaller DC pension schemes with assets below £100m to assess if members’ interests are better served within larger schemes. Driving consolidation remains central to TPR’s three-year corporate plan, launched in May 2024. The regulator argues that smaller arrangements are more likely to exhibit weaker governance. “All savers deserve to be in schemes with strong governance,” said Gaucho Rasmussen, TPR’s executive director of regulatory compliance. “Where trustees cannot match the best in the market, on value or governance, they should consider whether moving to a better-value scheme is best for their savers.” Trustees were encouraged to prioritise value and governance when deciding...

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NEWS
Pensions Ombudsman finds maladministration in transfer delay; no financial loss without compelling evidence; statutory interest only; £1,000 for distress (Ms N, CAS-124815-S6D7)

Original news Ms N (CAS-124815-S6D7)—26 May 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman upheld a complaint concerning a delayed pension transfer. The complainant was awarded compensation for significant distress and inconvenience. However, she was not awarded compensation for financial loss because the Pensions Ombudsman was not persuaded about how she would have invested the transfer, and adding statutory interest to the transfer yielded a sum lower than the actual transfer value. This decision serves as a reminder that, in a pension transfer delay case, a member must evidence financial loss. What were the facts? Ms N was a member of the Scottish Widows Executive Pension Plan (the Scheme). Ms N’s ex‑husband (Mr N) was the trustee director of the Scheme in this specific case...

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NEWS
UK and EU financial services weekly briefing: PSR–FCA integration, FCA motor finance redress, market abuse controls, gilt repo reforms, sanctions actions, SFDR reporting, stablecoin frameworks (11 September 2025)

In this issue: UK, EU and international regulators and bodies Authorisation, approval and supervision Prudential requirements Financial crime and sanctions Conduct requirements Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Regulation of capital markets Sustainable finance and ESG Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance FSMA regulated pensions activity Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets LexTalk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary UK, EU and international regulators and bodies HMT consults on proposed integration of PSR functions into FCA framework HM Treasury (HMT) has launched a consultation proposing to fold the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) remit into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the government’s Regulatory Action Plan. The intention is to streamline the payments regulatory landscape by reducing the number...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Pensions glossary for family and matrimonial finance lawyers: schemes, tax reliefs, state pension, auto-enrolment, offsetting, PPF, valuation, drawdown and post-2024 lifetime allowance changes

A-day 'A-day' is the widely used term for the broad pension tax 'simplification' reforms that began on 6 April 2006. The changes covered: how much pension contribution was allowed, the kinds of schemes an individual could invest in, the sums that could be taken (and when), and the choices available for any remaining fund. A-day also introduced the annual allowance and the (now abolished) lifetime allowance. See: Annual allowance and Lifetime allowance. AFPS AFPS: Armed forces pension scheme; see Practice Note: Public sector pensions and family proceedings. Accrual rate The speed at which pension benefits build as pensionable service is completed in a final salary scheme, eg 1/60 for each year of pensionable service. Accrued benefits The benefits earned in respect of service up to a specified date. Added years Extra pension provided by adding further years of pensionable service in a salary-related scheme. Such additional years are secured via transfer payments or through additional voluntary contributions/augmentation...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK pensions glossary for private client and family lawyers

Accrual rate The speed at which pension entitlement builds as pensionable service is completed within a final salary arrangement, e.g. 1/60 for each year of pensionable service. Accrued benefits Benefits relating to service built up to a given date, measured with reference to current earnings or projected future pay. A-day ‘A-day’ is the widely used term for the broad pension tax ‘simplification’ reforms that came into force on 6 April 2006. These changes followed a 2004 government policy to rationalise the British tax system as it applied to pension schemes. The objective was to cut the volume of legislation accumulated under successive administrations, folding the previous eight tax regimes into a single regime for all personal and occupational pensions. Key areas covered included: how much pension contribution was allowed; the range of schemes an individual could invest in; how much an individual could withdraw (and when); and what could be done with the remaining fund. A-Day...

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