Legal News

Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has supported a grievance concerning a scheme’s refusal to supply details of a member’s annual allowance status within the expected timescales. Repeated holdups in issuing the necessary statements amounted to maladministration. The scheme had pledged to exceed the obligations set by the relevant disclosure regulations, and it was fair for the complainant to expect that undertaking to be honoured. The commitment created a clear expectation that the promised information would be delivered promptly. This decision illustrates that a pension scheme can be liable where it promises to go beyond statutory duties and then fails to do so. What were the facts? Dr S belonged to the 2008 Section and the 2015 Section of the NHS Pension Scheme (the Scheme)......

In this issue: Investment Members and benefits Pensions Ombudsman Fresh content Daily and weekly news updates Key dates for your diary Trackers Investment Pension Fund Clearing Obligation Exemption ( Amendment) Regulations 2025 On 11 June 2025, the Pension Fund Clearing Obligation Exemption ( Amendment) Regulations, SI 2025/670, took effect. Notably, these rules grant pension funds an indefinite exemption from the UK EMIR requirement to clear certain derivative contracts (the clearing obligation). In detail, the regulations: amend the transitional provision in Article 89(1) of Assimilated Regulation ( EU) 648/2012 ( UK EMIR) and the Council text of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories, which exempts specified pension fund derivative contracts from the clearing obligation set out in Article 4 of UK EMIR remove the current 18 June 2025 sunset for the clearing...

For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, [2025] 2 All ER 759 What are the practical implications of this case? Employers, service organisations and public bodies ought to audit existing policies and procedures to ensure they accord with discrimination law as articulated by the Supreme Court. This ruling is especially salient amid the continuing public and political debate about the rights of trans people and of women, whether those rights clash, and the ways the law presently does, and ought to, accommodate them. The UK government welcomed the decision; the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, said it ‘brings welcome clarity and confidence for women and service providers’. However, some lawyers and organisations criticised the outcome, voicing concern about its impact on trans people’s rights. On 25 April 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission announced a...

In a consultation published on 6 June 2025, the FCA indicated it would relax ‘assessment of value’ disclosure rules following sector feedback that the obligations are burdensome and deliver limited benefit for investors. These requirements also overlap with its Consumer Duty, which demands good outcomes for consumers. In their annual assessment of value statements, fund firms set out whether fees are warranted and, where they are not, what corrective steps are planned or have been taken. However, the FCA has concluded that, given low consumer engagement, the expense of producing these reports is not justified. FCA interim buy-side director Nike Trost said the revisions would have a tangible effect, cutting costs and saving time so asset managers can focus on what matters to their investors. The regulator will keep the underlying standards for value assessments while scaling back the extent of public...

The advocacy organisation Women Against State Pension Inequality ( WASPI) said High Court judge Jonathan Swift’s ruling on 5 June 2025, granting a judicial review of why the government chose not to pay compensation, represented an 'important point in our campaign for justice'. Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, told MPs in December 2024 that her administration had closely examined a damning Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report from March 2024 on shortcomings in state pension provision. However, she said the government could not defend establishing a compensation programme for the women. Campaigners from the group launched legal proceedings in February 2025 challenging Whitehall’s refusal to compensate the 3.6 million affected women over Whitehall’s decision not to act......

The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) announced on 5 June 2025 that resolving the matters arising from the Virgin Media v NTL Trustees [2024] EWCA Civ 843 judgment would deliver greater certainty to the long-term savings sector. The draft legislation would permit defined benefit ( DB) pension schemes to obtain, retrospectively, written actuarial sign-off confirming that historic benefit changes satisfied the required standards, a step intended to reduce the industry uncertainty that followed the delivery of the judgment......

Nausicaa Delfas, Chief Executive of TPR On 5 June 2025, Nausicaa Delfas, Chief Executive of TPR, said the new Pension Schemes Bill will reshape the UK's pensions landscape and what it means to be a trustee in practice. She added TPR would learn from others and adopt 'the best of analogous regimes'. The government’s long-anticipated Pension Schemes Bill, introduced on 5 June 2025, brings a raft of changes across the system, including fresh value-for-money rules and the automatic merger of small pension pots. It also sets out steps to harness the pensions sector for greater investment in the UK economy. Addressing the Pensions Management Institute’s annual conference in London, Delfas stressed that trustees sit at the core of the pensions framework. She said the choices they make profoundly affect the financial wellbeing of millions of savers, and that as the system expands and adapts, so too must...

On 5 June 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) stated that the review would examine the adequacy of retirement provision across state and occupational pensions, together with personal wealth holdings. The government has set out a roadmap for the implementation of pension reforms that are expected in the coming years. ' In the near future, the government will begin the next phase of the pensions review with a comprehensive assessment of the adequacy of retirement incomes for future generations of pensioners', the DWP noted......

The Pension Schemes Bill The Pension Schemes Bill spans wide‑ranging proposals including fresh value‑for‑money rules and the automatic consolidation of small retirement savings accounts. It further sets out steps to mobilise the pensions sector to channel more investment into the UK economy. Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, said that hardworking people across the UK rightly should see their pensions working as hard as their savings efforts, and that these reforms will provide a substantial boost for future generations of pensioners. She added that the bill focuses squarely on securing better value for savers’ pensions while stimulating long‑term investment in British businesses to support economic growth nationwide. The standout reform in the Pension Schemes Bill is a new overarching value‑for‑money framework. Providers of defined contribution ( DC) pensions will have to benchmark the value they deliver for customers against their peers across three...

Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint about a pension transfer into a pension liberation arrangement. Under the regulatory guidance then in force at the time, the transfer process presented no obvious warning signs. The pension scheme had no obligation to verify the authorisation of the investment advisers directly connected with the transfer. This decision serves as a reminder that the scope of necessary due diligence is assessed by reference to the guidance applicable at the relevant time. What were the facts? Mr N was a member of the Chevron UK Pension Plan (the Scheme)......

The ABI stated that pension firms require an 'indicative timeline' for rolling out the new online portals so they can plan properly and be fully prepared in advance. Ministers expect that the new digital tools will enable employees to work out their retirement income and reunite them with an estimated 2.8 million missing pension pots, together worth a combined £26.6bn. The Money and Pensions Service, which offers consumers guidance on savings arrangements, is at present hosting a free, government-funded dashboard service. In due course, the service will also be offered as a white-label solution for......

Original news Mr N ( CAS-31532- G2M0)—29 January 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed a grievance concerning the transfer of pension funds into a pension liberation arrangement. Even though the destination scheme had only recently been registered, that alone was not sufficient to require the ceding scheme to suspect fraud. The member was likely to proceed in any case, having read the Scorpion guidance and having already seen another of his schemes refuse an equivalent transfer. This outcome emphasises the need to assess whether any shortcomings within the due diligence process would genuinely materially have influenced a member’s decision to transfer. What were the facts? Mr N belonged to the HBOS Final Salary Pension Scheme (the Scheme). In the early part of 2013......

Original news Mr W ( CAS-111806- F8J2)—6 February 2025 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has upheld in part a complaint concerning a reduction in a spouse’s pension. The complainant had no entitlement to the higher figure erroneously given in the Scheme’s initial correspondence. He sustained no financial loss, as he did not rely on the inaccurate statement to his disadvantage. Nevertheless, £500 was awarded for significant distress and inconvenience. This decision reinforces that pension schemes may only pay the benefits provided for in the scheme’s trust deed and rules. The erroneous quotation did not create a right to enhanced benefits. An inflated amount in the Scheme’s first letter could not override those governing documents. What were the facts? Mr W’s wife was a member of the Harrods Group Pension Scheme (the Scheme)......

The PLSA estimates that the minimum retirement living standard for one person now costs £13,400 a year, down £1,000 from its estimate in 2024 In its annual RLS estimate, the PLSA highlights shifts in expected retirement budgets, derived from independent research by Loughborough University assessing what income the public believes is required in retirement. For a two-person household, the minimum threshold has reduced by £800 to £21,600 a year. Moderate and comfortable benchmarks have nudged higher, broadly keeping pace with inflation. Among couples, the comfortable standard has seen the largest increase since 2024, rising by £1,600 a year to £60,600. The PLSA notes these movements largely reflect lower energy costs alongside modest adjustments in everyday spending......

The FRC reported that nearly 300 asset managers, pension providers and others have signed on to the Code. They collectively oversee £50trn in assets under management and will now have clearer reporting requirements explaining how they intend to provide long-term value for investors. Richard Moriarty, the FRC’s Chief Executive, said in a statement that the refreshed code prioritises long-term, sustainable value creation, trims unnecessary reporting and lifts the quality of engagement. The current signatories to the voluntary code include Black Rock Inc and HSBC Global Asset Management ( UK) Ltd, two of the largest asset managers. The FRC said it brought in the changes after more than 1,500 discussions with relevant businesses. The simplified Code has been introduced following a four-month consultation that concluded in February 2025......

What is the background to the consultation? The consultation, ‘ Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Access and fairness’, released on 15 May 2025, seeks to fundamentally enhance fairness in, and access to, the LGPS. It will examine five principal areas of concern: tackling survivor pensions and death grants reducing the gender pensions gap examining the high rate of opt-outs from the LGPS strengthening forfeiture provisions delivery of the Mc Cloud remedy What is being proposed? The document explains that some proposals offer definitive resolutions to entrenched issues (for example, securing equal survivor benefit entitlement), while others begin longer-term work (including measures to reduce the gender pensions gap). We highlight two central reforms: revisions to survivor benefits and actions to improve the gender pensions gap. Survivor benefit entitlement Currently, survivors in same-sex marriages, survivors in same-sex civil partnerships, and female survivors of opposite-sex marriages and opposite-sex civil...

What was the background to the consultation? What was proposed? On 14 November 2024, the Df E opened a consultation examining adjustments to member contribution rates and the extension of Fair Deal to further education institutions within the TPS. The department requested feedback on potential increases to member rates after the 2020 scheme valuation indicated a lower-than-expected member contribution yield. In the TPS, members collectively are expected to contribute 9.6% of pay across the entire membership — the ‘member contribution yield’ — yet the 2020 estimate came in at 9.45%. The consultation papers highlighted that, if contribution rates were left unchanged, the resulting shortfall in member payments would need to be met by employers and, in the end, the taxpayer. Consequently, the Df E consulted on keeping the current six-tier contribution model, while raising the member contribution rates for tiers 2 to 6 by 0.3...

Wilson v Port of Felixstowe Pension Trustee Ltd [2025] EWHC 1271 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The PO offers a swift, low‑cost and informal route for resolving complaints and disputes concerning occupational pensions; in essence, it is a simpler and cheaper substitute for court proceedings, and members as well as trustees are urged to use it. In short, it provides a more convenient path than issuing court claims, delivering outcomes more rapidly and with lower expense. However, two key points need to be clearly understood. First, the PO’s determinations have the effect of a court order: they are final and binding, creating a res judicata in relation to the issues decided, and thus finally settling those points. Second, unlike a court order, they can be appealed solely on a point of law, which makes them less...

On 28 May 2025, EY- Parthenon reported that 63% of UK firms running defined benefit pension schemes that issued a profit warning in the last quarter during the period blamed trade tariffs as a reason. EY- Parthenon cautioned trustees that sponsoring employers may soon seek to dip into funding surpluses as they look to counterbalance losses stemming from broken supply chains or market turbulence and uncertainty across markets. This alert comes after the government published proposals that would permit companies with a defined benefit scheme to draw on an estimated £160bn in pension surpluses under the plans......

JM Kamau Ltd v The Pensions Regulator [2025] UKFTT 484 ( GRC) What are the practical implications of this case? At the case management stage, the matter was designated a lead case under the Tribunal Procedure ( First-tier Tribunal) ( General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, SI 2009/1976, r 18. The designation concerned the question whether, where a notice under the Pensions Act 2008 ( PA 2008) is delivered to the proper address but never comes to the attention of the individual to whom it is addressed, that person can maintain that the notice was not “issued” for the purposes of PA 2008. The resulting implications for the Tribunal’s jurisdiction are those identified in paragraph 34 of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Philip Freeman Mobile Welders Ltd. v. The Pensions Regulator [2022] UKUT 62 ( AAC). In essence, if the notice has not been issued, the time limit for...