Member-Nominated Trustees meaning

Do the requirements for appointing member-nominated trustees (MNTs) or member-nominated directors (MNDs) apply? Verify whether the arrangement is a trust-based occupational pension scheme. Identify whether the scheme is exempt; if it is, document the method used to reach that conclusion. Which of the requirements apply: member-nominated trustees (MNTs) or member-nominated directors (MNDs)? Determine if the trustees are individuals, a corporate entity, or a combination of both. Where trustees are individuals, or a mix of individual and corporate trustees, the MNT requirements apply. If there is a sole corporate trustee, or all trustees are corporate, the MND requirements apply. If a company acts as trustee for more than one scheme to which MND rules apply, decide whether those rules apply to it separately for each scheme, as though the schemes were a single scheme, or a blend of both approaches. The requirements Ensure at least one-third of the trustees are MNTs, or...

THIS CHECKLIST APPLIES TO OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This checklist highlights the key actions involved in bringing an occupational pension scheme to a close—whether a defined benefit (DB) or defined contribution (DC) arrangement—and aligns with winding-up guidance from the Pensions Regulator (TPR). For fuller detail on these steps, see Practice Notes: Winding up a defined benefit (DB) occupational pension scheme; Winding up a defined contribution (DC) occupational pension scheme; and Winding-up an occupational pension scheme—statutory disclosure from 6 April 2014, reporting and record-keeping requirements. Data cleansing and reconciling records Once trustees decide to wind up the scheme, they should carry out a thorough data cleansing exercise. As this can be lengthy, it should, where practicable, be completed before formal winding-up starts. Where trustees cannot control the timing of the wind-up, cleansing and planning should begin as early as possible within the winding-up process. As part of the data cleansing exercise, trustees should: Check and reconcile member records. Where the scheme is a former contracted-out...

THIS CHECKLIST APPLIES TO TRUSTEES OF PRIVATE SECTOR DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Checklist has been archived. It summarises the actions DB trustees needed to take in the run-up to 6 April 2015, and afterwards, to accommodate the pension flexibilities (also called pension freedoms) introduced on 6 April 2015. For more about the nature of those reforms, see Practice Note: Pension freedoms—an introduction [Archived]. In this Checklist, ‘DB trustees’ denotes the trustees (or managers) of arrangements other than those providing flexible benefits, i.e. excluding: money purchase arrangements cash balance arrangements other arrangements that typically require an individual to buy an annuity Note that the additional voluntary contribution (AVC) facilities of defined benefit schemes do, in effect, amount to arrangements offering flexibilities. The issues set out in Pension flexibilities: steps for DC trustees to take—checklist [Archived] are therefore relevant to trustees of such schemes, but only to the extent that the AVC facilities are concerned. Preliminary steps ...

What are the most significant changes introduced by the Act that pension scheme trustees need to prepare for? The most notable reforms in the Act that trustees should be ready for are: Data subject complaints: complaints about the handling of personal data must be acknowledged within 30 days and answered without undue delay. ICO enforcement powers: the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) now has authority to compel interviews and require the production of documents to assess compliance. Data subject access requests (DSARs): the Act codifies the ICO’s existing guidance, meaning (i) trustees must apply a ‘reasonable and proportionate’ search standard when responding; and (ii) the ‘stop the clock’ rule pauses the one-month deadline for a response. Automated decision making (ADM): the Act allows reliance on the full set of lawful bases — including ‘legitimate interests’ — when non-special category personal data is used for significant automated decisions about an individual, provided suitable safeguards are in place. ...

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...

What is the background to TPR’s guidance? As funding positions strengthen and market innovations come through, trustees and employers are encountering a wider suite of financial, governance and insurance tools to meet their schemes’ long-term aims. Insurer buy-out was once viewed as the definitive DB endgame, yet TPR has now confirmed it is not the only route. The guidance is intended to help trustees steer through emerging options, judge their suitability, and make informed choices that improve financial outcomes, strengthen governance and bolster member security. It also emphasises the relevance of scheme-specific circumstances and the importance of obtaining professional advice. What are the key points, aspects, and themes of the guidance? The guidance is framed around several core themes. Endgame planning is no longer a single-track journey, and trustees are encouraged to explore a spectrum of outcomes: aiming for self-sufficiency, continuing to run on the scheme, transferring to consolidators such as superfunds, or insuring benefits via buy-ins and buy-outs. Each route carries distinct characteristics, risks and benefits,...

A risk with employment cessation events is that they can be set off unintentionally, for example because the last remaining active member of an employer in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme has left. The Employer Debt Regulations, SI 2005/678 were amended with effect from 6 April 2008 to introduce grace periods, a device intended to help employers deal with accidental employment cessation events. For further information on employment cessation events and other section 75 triggers, see Practice Note: When is a section 75 debt triggered? When can a grace period be used? When can a grace period be used? An employer in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme may notify the trustees that it wishes to enter a grace period (by giving a grace period notice) if: that employer ceases to employ active members at a time when at least one other employer still employs active members, thereby creating an employment cessation event, and it intends to employ at least one individual who is an...

Sound administration underpins the smooth operation of a pension scheme and the delivery of good member outcomes, not least because administrators are typically members’ first port of call; consequently, their effectiveness, consistency and accuracy indeed strongly influence member experience and results. In short, administration counts because it is the usual locus of pension governance, safeguarding data accuracy, regulatory compliance and correct member outcomes being delivered on a consistent basis. What is a scheme administrator? For the purposes of this Practice Note, ‘scheme administrator’ means the individual or entity that supports the scheme’s day-to-day running by planning, managing and performing its administrative tasks. This can be an external provider, a dedicated internal team within the employer and/or the employer’s human resources or finance functions and departments. This usage is different from the ‘scheme administrator’ in Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004), denoting the person or persons who ensure the scheme meets FA 2004 requirements in full. In practice, that statutory capacity is...

This Practice Note This Practice Note offers a summary of the categories of parties that may take part in litigation in England and Wales, whether as claimants or defendants, together with the principal procedural matters and practical points their legal advisers should consider. It outlines who may sue or be sued and the implications for case management and strategy. Corporations Partnerships Sole traders Unincorporated associations Children Insolvent individuals or companies Groups The estate of a deceased party Litigants in person It is crucial that party status aligns with the issues to be determined. In Haque (representative/member of Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan unincorporated association) v Hussain, the defendants were sued as trustees but advanced a defence which the court held could be pursued only in their capacity as members of an unincorporated association, not as trustees. At [27], the judge noted that, in principle, the active defendants should have recognised this within stage one of the...

In line with s 241 of the Pensions Act 2004, the Scheme’s trustees (the Trustees) have agreed to adopt the member-nominated trustee arrangement as attached herein...

The Scheme's process for choosing and appointing member-nominated trustees states that, if nominations outnumber vacancies for a member-nominated trustee, a ballot shall then be conducted in those circumstances accordingly...

To the attention of the Trustees of [ enter pension scheme name ] (the “Scheme”) Please note: to be valid, this nomination form must reach [ enter the name and address of appropriate individual ] no later than [ enter the date and time at least one day and one month after members are asked to nominate ] Nominations...

We proceed on the basis that the pension scheme in question is a defined benefit scheme and that the former MND is a member. Whether the former MND should first contest the outcome of the MND election through the pension scheme’s internal dispute resolution procedure, or complain straight to the Pensions Regulator, depends on the nature and seriousness of the breach...