Legal News

M Rose Construction Ltd v The Pensions Regulator [2025] UKFTT 282 ( GRC) What are the practical implications of this case? Appreciating the effect of this decision will aid practitioners advising on clients’ ‘automatic enrolment’ obligations under the PA 2008, namely to place specified employees into a workplace pension scheme and fund contributions. The ‘duties start date’ is the point when the first member of staff begins work for the business. In this matter, that date was 1 July 2023, and the company had to submit information for every person employed on that date by making a declaration of compliance. Where a declaration is not completed within the stated timeframe, TPR will issue a ‘compliance notice’ to the employer. If the employer still fails to act on that compliance notice, TPR can issue a penalty notice requiring payment of the penalty and the...

Sterling-linked gilt yields fell for a second straight day as investors rotated out of shares and into sovereign debt or gold, following the US government’s 2 April 2025 declaration of sweeping tariff hikes. When bond prices climb, yields contract. The UK’s defined benefit pension schemes hold substantial gilts, and the steady rise in yields over the past five years has produced unprecedented improvements in funding for retirement plans, underpinned by higher interest income from their bond portfolios. By the morning of 4 April 2025, the ten-year gilt yield had slipped to 4.35%, from 4.48% a week earlier, amid continuing fallout across financial markets. Even so, specialists said schemes have probably allowed for those shifts within their investment strategies......

IFo A reported it had run a survey of 2,000 adults aged over 55, discovering that 43% of participants said they had taken no advice or guidance whatsoever. The study was undertaken to mark a full decade since the government introduced pension freedoms in April 2015, changes that enabled people over 55 to reach their retirement pots and withdraw tax-free cash as permitted when eligible......

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......

Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint alleging undue delay in making a transfer payment. It was deemed acceptable, and aligned with industry practice, to raise follow‑up questions only once the initial completed transfer paperwork had been received. The Scheme had, in all likelihood, sent its request to the correct email address. The transfer was concluded within the Scheme’s target service level of 15 working days, and that period was considered reasonable. This outcome also underscores the need for pension schemes to maintain accurate member contact details. What were the facts? Mr N was a member of the IBM Pension Plan (the Scheme). He requested a transfer of his Scheme benefits to a personal pension. After receiving the completed transfer forms, the Scheme emailed Mr N to the address......

Original news Mr N ( CAS-45541- T0B3)—8 December 2024 / Mr N ( PO-28733)—14 November 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld two complaints relating to the shortcomings of two related small self-administered schemes ( SSASs) in conducting proper due diligence before entering a high-risk property investment. The same professional trustee acted for both schemes and was positioned to stop the transaction. The investment was speculative and lacked diversification. No prudent trustee would have proceeded with such an investment. The Pensions Ombudsman concluded that the professional trustee should bear 80% of the loss, leaving the co-trustee and the complainant jointly responsible for the remaining 20%. This outcome serves as a reminder that a professional trustee can be held liable for flawed investment decisions even where the complainant is also a co-trustee... What were the facts? Mr N was a member of the Manvers Limited Executive Pension Scheme and the...

Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has partly upheld a complaint concerning unreasonable delay in paying a transfer. The pension scheme’s administrator took more than a year to complete the transfer payment. It persisted in asking for information even after it had been supplied and was slow to respond to enquiries. Taken together, this amounted to maladministration, which caused the complainant significant distress and inconvenience. This decision is a reminder to pension schemes that transfer requests should be handled promptly and in a timely manner. What were the facts? Mr T was a member of the Sainsbury’s Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme was administered by Willis Towers Watson ( WTW). Mr T submitted a request to move his Scheme benefits to a personal......

On 2 April 2025, TPR announced in a press statement that, as it refines its framework, it will run targeted engagement with a selection of professional trustee firms over Summer 2025. It plans to extend this oversight to the wider population of professional trustee firms across the market by the close of 2025. TPR added it will trial 'proportionate and targeted' approaches to gathering data and intends to build a culture of 'regulatory dialogue'. Ultimately, TPR said it wants to secure better outcomes for savers. According to Nausicaa Delfas, TPR’s Chief Executive, the sector has experienced 'significant growth' in recent years, and now a majority of pension schemes appoint a professional or sole trustee. Delfas noted that 'between them, just 10 firms govern more than a trillion pounds of savers' retirement income'......

In this issue: The Pensions Regulator The Pension Protection Fund Members and benefits Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator TPR to reduce regulatory burden and enable access to broader range of diverse assets in order to help boost economic growth Cutting red tape and opening access to a wider mix of diverse assets are central ways the Pensions Regulator ( TPR) aims to bolster economic growth, CEO Nausicaa Delfas told the JP Morgan Pensions and Savings Symposium 2025, noting that fostering growth for savers is not TPR’s responsibility alone; the market must respond, keep innovating with new product propositions, greater transparency and true value for money options. In her address titled ‘pensions regulation and growth’, Ms Delfas explained how TPR will lead on priority measures to protect savers, improve the system and drive innovation in savers’ interests. Work is already...

The Economic Miracle of Great Britain: Using DB pension surpluses more productively The SMF, in its briefing paper ‘ The Economic Miracle of Great Britain: Using DB pension surpluses more productively’, argued that PPF protection be lifted to 100% of benefits for all members, in order to overcome any trustee scepticism about the government’s proposed reforms. These recommendations arrive as the government proposes relaxing the rules that permit DB pension scheme surpluses to be ‘extracted’ and redeployed by corporate sponsors. The SMF’s paper further explained that one factor which could potentially hold back trustees from extracting surpluses is concern that the PPF currently pays only 90% of a scheme’s promised pension to members below normal retirement......

The IFS observed that staff in the private sector who have built up defined contribution pension pots are taking weighty, intricate choices about this pension wealth without obtaining advice. According to the IFS, set out in two reports produced with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, this raises the likelihood that many will deplete their own funds and revert to state pensions and benefits. Mubin Haq, the Trust’s Chief Executive, from the charitable foundation, warned that the retreat of pensions guaranteeing an income for life means people increasingly 'shoulder the risks and complexities' of running their retirement pots. ' As we grow older, money decisions in retirement will become even harder,' Haq said. ' The challenge is compounded by the sheer number of different pension pots that many will be required to oversee and personally manage'......

Morgan Lloyd Trustees Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 102 ( TCC) The company acted as trustee to small, self‑administered pension schemes ( SSASs) established by more than 500 employers, who then entered into arrangements with their SSASs aimed at releasing cash. The structures adopted were either loans, secured by charges over various intellectual property ( IP) items—such as domain names, websites and trade marks—or, alternatively, sale and leaseback, or sale and licence‑back, deals concerning comparable IP assets. HMRC took the view that many employers had received unauthorised employer payments and accordingly issued assessments to unauthorised payment charges and surcharges. In addition, HMRC assessed MLT to scheme sanction charges. MLT applied to HMRC for discharge of the charges under FA 2004, s 268; however, HMRC refused certain applications and concluded that others were submitted outside the time limit. MLT and the employers appealed to the FTT, which...

TPR has stated it is now committed to calibrating a degree of financial risk that is 'proportionate' to maintaining a system that nurtures a healthy environment for retirement savers. This commitment follows HM Treasury’s 17 March 2025 announcement, ' A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth', which asks TPR to cut bureaucratic hurdles in order to strip back regulatory burdens viewed as holding back economic growth. Nausicaa Delfas, TPR’s Chief Executive, told the JP Morgan Pensions and Savings Symposium on 28 March 2025 that, this year, TPR will run a broad review of its scheme return and supervisory returns 'to rationalise and remove unnecessary burdens' on programmes. Delfas added that this work will concentrate on two principal areas......

Targeted Support In a recent address, FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi said regulated firms are piloting a consumer-facing component of targeted support, which they are currently designing and developing as a test. This approach will let financial institutions provide enhanced help to cohorts of customers purchasing financial products, while avoiding the regulatory exposure associated with personalised advice. Industry stakeholders have backed the plan. Rathi told the JP Morgan Pensions and Savings Symposium 2025: ' Working with the Treasury, we will soon consult on our proposed model ( Targeted Support), designed to bridge the space between generic factual guidance and regulated advice for pensions and investments'......

In this issue: Spring Statement 2025 Taxation Funding, surplus and investment Trustees, governance and administration Pension scams and liberation New content Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Spring Statement 2025 Spring Statement 2025— Chancellor silent on pensions with only fleeting reference to investment reform and removal of regulatory barriers as part of economic growth agenda During the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, gave scant attention to pensions, defying expectations in parts of the pensions sector. Her only nod to pensions was to state that government’s growth plan involves boosting investment, overhauling the pensions framework, creating a National Wealth Fund, and stripping away regulatory obstacles across all industries, as part of its broader economic growth agenda. Published alongside the...

High Court Judge Nicholas Lavender On 24 March 2025, Judge Nicholas Lavender partially allowed Andrew Phillips’ appeal, permitting him to reinstate a portion of his action against National Grid Gas plc ( National Grid). He contends the company failed in its duty of care when giving reasons for his non-eligibility for ill-health retirement, even though his employment ended owing to a back injury. The proceedings arise from Phillips’ challenge to Recorder Gibbons’ ruling, which had entered summary judgment for the defendant, National Grid, on his damages claim. The matter before the King’s Bench Division of the High Court turned on how the pension scheme rules should be read and on the employer’s obligation to express an opinion about an employee’s incapacity......

David Walmsley, the director of supervision at TPR, stated in a speech to the Pensions Administration Standards Association conference that, although progress has been made, there is 'more to do', particularly for defined benefit schemes. The warning forms part of a regulatory push by TPR to ensure pension schemes hold consumer data in a format that can be easily plugged into new online pensions dashboards developed under government direction. The deadline for all schemes to connect to the back end of......

Press release dated 21 March 2025 In its 21 March 2025 press release, Hymans Robertson confirmed that last year’s total was the second largest on record, exceeded only by the £49.1bn of transactions completed in 2023. At the same time, signalling that the market has shifted to better serve smaller pension schemes aiming to buy-out, the volume of deals increased from 226 in 2023 to 299 across the year. James Mullins, partner and risk transfer specialist at Hymans Robertson, described the near-300 tally as an important milestone for the buy-in market......

The LTAF is aimed at the UK institutional and wealth markets This enables the Aegon subsidiary to provide clients with exposure to private credit spanning a broad range of asset types. The scope includes corporate lending, fund financing, insured credit, renewables, and asset-backed finance. Jill Johnston, Head of Institutional Business at Aegon Asset Management, said in a statement that this asset class could potentially offer superior returns relative to public markets while also further enhancing diversification......

In this issue: The Pensions Regulator Funding, surplus and investment Contracting-out Trustees Disclosure requirements Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator HM Treasury Action Plan includes pledges from TPR HM Treasury has issued an Action Plan outlining the next steps in its approach to regulation and the oversight of regulators. It includes commitments from regulators to back the programme. The goal is a regime that boosts innovation and economic growth, while ensuring accountability for the quality of new rules and for how independent regulators apply and enforce them. The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) makes four specific commitments: TPR will review the capital reserves master trusts must hold, aiming to safely free up millions of pounds for schemes by the end of 2025/26 TPR will develop an innovation framework and...