Safeguarded benefits meaning

Re Mannarest Ltd [2026] EWHC 326 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? So far as is currently known, this appears to be the first reported decision under IA 1986, Sch B1, para 38. The judgment emphasises the court’s (quite proper) prioritisation of creditors’ interests and questions the long-held orthodoxy that liquidation is the point of no return. It confirms that, when the circumstances align, liquidation is not necessarily terminal. IA 1986, Sch B1, para 38 now stands as a factor that must be firmly weighed in any rescue or restructuring exercise—particularly where, as in situations of this kind, preserving the company’s existence produces clear benefits and creditors’ interests are fully safeguarded. In such circumstances, the provision sits squarely among the considerations that inform rescue and restructuring strategies. What was the background?...

In this issue: Pensions Regulator Trustees, governance and administration Members and benefits Employers and automatic enrolment Automatic enrolment and scheme rules Scheme amendments and construction of scheme rules Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Pensions Regulator TPR report shows it acted promptly to protect savers following Capita cyber security incident The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has released a report setting out how it collaborated with pension administrator Capita to gauge risks to pension schemes after a cyber security incident in March 2023. The paper explains that TPR intervened to make sure Capita was determining the scale of any impact on schemes and alerting trustees of those affected so that safeguards could be implemented. According to TPR, this rapid response meant thousands of pension savers were safeguarded. Capita learned of a cyber incident on 31 March 2023 in which certain data was accessed and/or copied, creating a risk that criminals could obtain...

This Practice Note explains the meanings of ‘flexible benefit’, ‘safeguarded benefit’ and ‘safeguarded‑flexible benefit’ in relation to the pension freedoms that took effect on 6 April 2015 (for further detail, see Practice Note: Pension freedoms—an introduction [Archived]). Why does the distinction matter? Drawing a line between flexible benefits and safeguarded benefits is crucial, as the pension freedoms introduced on 6 April 2015 are available only for the former and not the latter. Put simply, someone holding safeguarded benefits alone cannot use the pension freedoms unless they first convert those safeguarded benefits into flexible benefits, for example by transferring to a flexible benefit arrangement or by converting them within a scheme into flexible benefits. The government initially floated a consultation on extending certain pension freedoms to safeguarded benefits, but nothing further has emerged since the July 2014 announcement. In any event, schemes providing safeguarded benefits would have been expected to dismiss such proposals because of the administrative and actuarial difficulties the scheme would face whenever a member made...

This Practice Note outlines and critiques the restrictions that arise when advice is provided to an individual who wishes to move from a defined benefit (DB) occupational pension scheme to a manner of defined contribution (DC) arrangement. It concentrates on what amounts to suitable independent advice, identifies which persons are authorised to deliver advice, and explains the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requirements placed upon those persons. The need to take advice Since 6 April 2015, members holding safeguarded benefits—broadly, DB entitlements—valued at £30,000 or more must obtain advice from a professional, independent financial adviser (described by the FCA as a Pension Transfer Specialist) if they intend to surrender safeguarded benefits in favour of flexible benefits—broadly, DC entitlements—whether by transferring them to a flexible benefit scheme, converting benefits into flexible benefits, or receiving them as an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum. This duty to seek advice, which this Practice Note terms the ‘appropriate independent advice requirement’, is considered in Practice Note: Requirement for appropriate independent advice on DB to...

A pension transfer A pension transfer takes place when an individual’s rights under one pension scheme are moved to another. The ceding scheme passes the relevant assets to the receiving scheme, which then assumes responsibility for providing the benefits for the person concerned. Members of all UK registered pension schemes that are personal pension schemes have an overriding statutory entitlement to transfer the cash equivalent of their benefits to another pension arrangement, subject to meeting certain prescribed conditions. Many personal pension schemes also allow transfers out in wider situations than those giving rise to the statutory right, for example: partial transfers transfers of benefits that are in drawdown transfers of particular assets in non-cash form In practice, it is crucial that transfers paid from personal pension schemes constitute a recognised transfer for HMRC purposes and do not inadvertently forfeit any tax-related protections or statuses the member may hold. Personal pension schemes can also receive transfers from other pension...