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Money purchase arrangement meaning

What does Money purchase arrangement mean?
In practice, a money purchase arrangement is the part of a pension scheme where a member’s benefits are determined solely by contributions and investment returns (including cash balance designs), rather than by a salary/service formula. For UK tax purposes (Finance Act 2004 and HMRC guidance), an arrangement is a money purchase arrangement if, at the relevant time, all benefits that may be provided to or in respect of the member under that arrangement are cash balance or other money purchase benefits. If any defined benefits may be provided, it is not a money purchase arrangement. An arrangement is a ring-fenced section of a registered pension scheme. Regulatory alignment is not complete: under UK pensions legislation (Pension Schemes Act 1993, as amended by the Pensions Act 2011), the definition of money purchase benefits is narrower and many cash balance promises are treated as defined benefits for funding, employer debt and related obligations. The classification matters for annual allowance and money purchase annual allowance calculations, the tax treatment of contributions and benefits, and for segmenting mixed-benefit schemes into separate arrangements. Usage is consistent across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Ireland, the equivalent concept is a defined contribution (money purchase) arrangement; cash...
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View the related Checklists about Money purchase arrangement

CHECKLISTS
Section 75 employer debts in occupational pension schemes: triggers, grace periods, deferred debt, restructuring exemptions, apportionment and withdrawal options—practitioners’ checklist

When does a section 75 debt arise? An s 75 liability crystallises in respect of an occupational pension scheme that is underfunded on a buy-out basis and: an employment-cessation event happens for a relevant participating employer within a multi-employer scheme an insolvency event occurs in relation to a participating employer of the scheme, or the scheme formally goes into winding up In a multi-employer scheme, an employer’s s 75 debt is its allocated share of the scheme deficit, appropriately assessed on a buy-out basis. As an alternative to immediately paying the s 75 debt in full, an employer may enter into a deferred debt arrangement, an apportionment arrangement, or a withdrawal arrangement. Section 75 does not apply at all to money purchase schemes, unregistered pension schemes, unfunded public sector schemes, and a scheme with only one member. ...

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CHECKLISTS
Annual benefit statements for occupational and personal pension schemes: content and disclosure requirements (DB, cash balance and DC) under regs 16, 16A and 17 of SI 2013/2734

This Checklist offers an overview of the information an annual benefit statement must contain under regs 16, 16A and 17 of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734 (the Disclosure Regs 2013). It applies irrespective of whether the pension arrangement in question is a defined benefit scheme, a cash balance arrangement or any other money purchase set‑up. Benefit statements for benefits other than money purchase benefits Active, deferred and pension credit members who are entitled to benefits other than money purchase benefits (for example, final salary or career average benefits) may ask the trustees or managers of the scheme for a benefit statement once in every 12‑month period. The trustees must provide the statement as soon as practicable and, in any event, within two months of their request. The precise content of the annual benefit statement varies according to the member’s status, and the accompanying table identifies the information requirements for benefit statements for each relevant type of member...

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View the related Practice Notes about Money purchase arrangement

PRACTICE NOTES
Winding up UK trust-based DC occupational pension schemes: classification, triggers, expenses, data cleansing, securing benefits, disclosures, trustee protections and completion

This Practice Note sets out the principal steps for properly bringing to an end a defined contribution (DC) occupational pension scheme—also described as a money purchase occupational pension arrangement or a trust-based defined contribution plan. Throughout this Practice Note, this type of arrangement is termed a ‘DC scheme’. The guidance applies across a range of DC schemes, including trusts that sit outside the authorised master trust framework and small self-administered pension schemes (SSASs), although the latter may, in certain cases, be excluded from particular statutory obligations or requirements. This Practice Note does not cover the winding-up of any: an ‘authorised master trust’ under the Pension Schemes Act 2017 (PSA 2017)—for further detailed information, please see Practice Note: The authorisation and supervisory regime for master trusts, contract-based DC arrangements (eg group personal pension arrangements)—for further details and guidance, see Practice Note: Winding up of personal pension schemes Statute makes distinct and specific provision for hybrid schemes (combining defined benefit (DB) and DC...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Pension drawdown (flexi-access and grandfathered capped) from 6 April 2015: scheme powers, tax allowances post-2024, death benefits, reporting, member issues and FCA rules

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO MONEY PURCHASE ARRANGEMENTS FROM 6 APRIL 2015 From 6 April 2015, new pension flexibilities expanded the retirement choices for DC members and others with ‘flexible benefits’ (in essence, money purchase and/or cash balance entitlements). As part of those reforms, drawdown became more broadly accessible. For background on the changes implemented on 6 April 2015, see Practice Note: Pension freedoms—an introduction [Archived]. This Practice Note concentrates on the legal framework for drawdown arrangements set up on and after 6 April 2015. It also addresses how pre-April 2015 drawdown is treated from that date. For the rules governing drawdown before 6 April 2015, see Practice Note: Drawdown between 6 April 2011 and 5 April 2015 [Archived]. What is drawdown? The label ‘drawdown pension’ (often called ‘flexible income’) replaced ‘unsecured pension’ and ‘alternatively secured pension’ used up to 5 April 2011. Drawdown pension describes the method of paying benefits that allows members to set their own yearly income from a pension arrangement...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK Hybrid Occupational Pension Schemes: DB/DC Structures, Underpins, PPF, Employer Debt, Auto‑Enrolment, Governance and TPR Guidance

What is a hybrid pension scheme? Current pensions law largely divides UK occupational pension schemes into two categories, based on whether they qualify as money purchase schemes. In outline: a money purchase scheme is one where every benefit provided is a money purchase benefit (see Practice Note: Money purchase benefits—the statutory definition for the statutory meaning of “money purchase benefits”) Defined benefit schemes are, generally, not separately defined. There are limited exceptions for automatic enrolment under the Pensions Act 2008 (PenA 2008) and for the types of benefits payable as authorised payments under the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004), under which: a defined benefits (DB) scheme is one where none of the benefits provided are money purchase benefits (note also the similar definition of a “defined benefits arrangement” in FA 2004, s 152(6)) For most purposes, these definitions therefore do not address situations where only some of a scheme’s benefits are money purchase. Schemes delivering a mixture...

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