Featured documents
R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
Most recent News
The Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, stated the government had acknowledged the report issued by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in March 2024. It concluded that the Department for Work and Pensions did not adequately communicate statutory alterations to the women’s state pension age, leading to significant financial detriment for many people. His remarks came before MPs during a debate on a petition, signed by more than 159,000, urging Whitehall to ‘fairly compensate’ women who were impacted by the alteration to the change. However, the Pensions Minister added that the government does ‘not agree’ with the Ombudsman’s view of injustice, nor with the remedy proposed, which advised creating a compensation programme to address and rectify those historical shortcomings set out in the report itself......
HM Treasury set out a slate of goals settled with TPR, among them an examination of the reporting duties it presently imposes on retirement schemes. However, at least one specialist argues that separate government moves, including fresh value-for-money reports and voluntary asset allocation disclosures, will significantly increase the existing volume of paperwork required of pension plans. The package agreed with TPR was presented as part of a far broader overhaul of the UK’s ‘risk-averse’ financial regulation framework, which the government estimates could propel up to £70bn in economic growth nationwide......
SPP’s 2025 AI survey According to the SPP’s 2025 AI survey, 87% of participants currently deploy the technology within their organisations. Seventy-seven percent reported applying AI to no more than 5% of their service lines in total, though they anticipated this share would rise. Over 40% indicated that they expect to employ AI across as much as half of all their offerings within the next ten years. The SPP did not disclose precisely the number of members surveyed. However, it stated that a representative cross-section of its membership took part. Participants comprised actuaries and consultants, pensions lawyers and professional trustees......
Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP Speaking to delegates at the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association ( PLSA) conference in Edinburgh on 11 March 2025, Torsten Bell MP said the government will firmly press on with the proposals first trailed in November 2024 to bring LGPS assets together by next spring. Ministers aim to fold the £400bn LGPS into a small number of larger vehicles overseeing a much bigger pool. At present, the LGPS is divided across 86 compact funds operated by administering authorities, each valued between £300m and £30bn. Bell added that the government intends to “stick to the timetable” of March 2026......
In this issue: The Pensions Regulator Funding, surplus and investment Public sector pensions Daily and weekly news alerts New content Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator Extra £25m to be paid into MGN Pension Scheme following TPR engagement The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) has released a regulatory intervention report setting out its actions after being told that Reach plc and the MGN Pension Scheme could not agree a scheme triennial valuation. The report also sets out the statutory obligations around triennial valuations and, when talks fail, the ways in which TPR may deploy its powers. In this matter, TPR engaged with the trustee and the employer once it was notified of the impasse on the 2019 triennial valuation for the MGN Pension Scheme, which counts 5,490 members. With TPR involved, the parties ultimately settled both the 2019 valuation and the later 2022 valuation. They agreed the scheme will receive deficit...
The FCA’s call for certainty followed Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, whose Mansion House address in November 2024 and accompanying letters pressed financial regulators to recalibrate risk aversion with economic growth. Her push gained broad backing from financial firms wrestling with the entrenched demands of the FCA’s Consumer Duty regime introduced 16 months prior right across the market already. Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s chief executive, pressed ministers to spell out their tolerance for consumer harm in a speech on 27 February 2025, restating a request he had set out in a publicised letter dated 16 January 2025. Rathi has already scrapped the need for firms to appoint a board champion under Consumer Duty, which mandates good outcomes for consumers. Firms in the sector still argue that the sheer volume and intricacy of FCA guidance suppresses innovation and overburdens compliance teams. The FCA now seeks...
In this issue: Trustees, governance and administration Types of private sector pensions Pensions dashboards Scheme amendments New content Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Trustees, governance and administration TPR publishes data strategy and calls on pension industry to improve data management The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) unveiled a data strategy on 3 March 2025 to raise data standards across the pensions industry, tasking schemes with improving data practices to deliver better outcomes and support the wider market through greater efficiencies, accelerated innovation and a reduced regulatory burden. Sitting within TPR’s overarching digital, data and technology ( DDa T) strategy, issued in October 2024, it maps out a collaborative and adaptable five-year plan to promote uptake of modern technologies and data standards. Focusing on the data elements of the DDa T agenda, the strategy requires stronger approaches to data handling and digitisation, aligning with TPR’s broader programme to reshape how both TPR and the...
The SPP indicated it was supportive of the FRC’s planned updates to its actuarial guidance, referred to as Technical Actuarial Standard 300 ( TAS 300). In December 2024, the FRC opened a consultation outlining measures intended to assist practitioners undertaking actuarial work within the new defined benefit ( DB) funding framework. The Occupational Pension Schemes ( Funding and Investment Strategy and Amendment) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/462, together with the Pensions Regulator’s updated DB Funding Code of Practice, mandate the procurement of actuarial advice across several matters and the application of actuarial judgement......
Original news Mrs S ( CAS-56106- J4K1)– 23 October 2024.. Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has upheld the complaint only in part, in relation to a delay in issuing a retirement illustration arising from the member’s redundancy. There was no financial loss to the complainant. She ought not to have declined an alternative role before seeing the retirement figures and fully considering them. Even so, the lag in sending the illustration amounted to maladministration and caused distress. The case underlines the need for schemes to provide information promptly to members, especially where significant decisions are in play and being considered. What were the facts? Mrs S was a member of the East Sussex Pension Fund within the Local Government Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme was administered by Swale Academies Trust ( SAT). On redundancy, the Scheme paid an unreduced pension, but it did not augment...
Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld in part a complaint concerning a Guaranteed Minimum Pension ( GMP) equalisation project. It found the scheme had not been unduly slow in progressing the GMP equalisation. The matters were intricate, with a dedicated working group supported by professional advisers. Nonetheless, the complainant suffered upset because the scheme broke a promise to keep him informed and did not provide updates. The decision underlines the need for schemes to be careful and consistent in their communications with members. Overall, delay was not upheld, but poor communication was. What were the facts? Mr N previously belonged to the Volkswagen Group Pension Scheme (the Scheme). In 1991, he moved his accrued Scheme benefits, including his GMP, out of the Scheme......
Original news Mr R ( CAS-54306- K6B1) – 26 October 2024. Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning a scheme’s delay in crystallising pension benefits during a transfer, which the member argued caused higher-rate tax on future withdrawals and used more of his lifetime allowance than would otherwise have been necessary. Although the delay was held to be maladministration, responsibility for tax liabilities arising from subsequent crystallisation events did not fall on either the transferring or the receiving scheme. In addition, any loss he said he suffered was offset by growth in his fund over the period, which produced a larger tax-free lump sum and, in total, a lower tax bill. This decision is a reminder that a professional will not be accountable for every loss flowing from a breach of duty... What were the facts? ......
Good investment and governance decisions require good-quality data Yet, TPR warns that thousands of pension schemes still retain some records in non-digital form. Data are transforming the world, and the regulator wants the pensions sector to seize this shift—delivering slicker, more effective services, fuelling innovation in how they are provided, and helping savers to manage and engage with their pensions easily, said Lisa Allen, TPR’s data services director. Weak data quality creates inconsistencies and heightens security risks—an issue of growing importance as defined contribution schemes consolidate, the TPR adds. DC pensions provide retirement incomes determined by contributions and the returns generated on investments over time......
Original news Mr S ( CAS-110689- M5K1)– 26 November 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning discretionary pension increases. A scheme newsletter had indicated an intention to provide RPI-linked rises up to 10%. The employer declined to approve inflation-matching increases, pointing to the need to preserve the scheme’s long-term financial security. The Pensions Ombudsman found that the scheme had correctly followed its rules. The newsletter did not amount to a commitment that inflation-linked rises would be paid. The employer’s refusal to award any increase was neither perverse nor irrational. This outcome highlights how challenging it is to overturn the exercise of an employer’s discretion. What were the facts? Mr S was a deferred member of the Smiths Industries Pension Scheme (the Scheme)......
On 27 February 2025, the SPP stated that the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes ( Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/1237 are 'neither efficient nor in the consumers best interests, and therefore require action'. Since launch, the framework has drawn criticism because it obliges pension schemes to halt or pause transfers when they identify 'red flags' hinting that savers are being duped by scammers. According to the SPP, ' The current regulations deem too many incentives to be automatic red flags' as currently written......
On 25 February 2025, The People’s Pension, operated by People’s Partnership, stated in its response to Discussion Paper DP24/3 ‘ Pensions: Adapting our requirements for a changing market’—issued by the FCA in December 2024—that the regulator should bring in an outright prohibition on financial incentives to transfer pensions. The master trust argued that savers can lose as much as 20% of their pension pots because of ill‑informed transfer decisions, which could translate into around £1.2bn forfeited across the UK in a single year. It also said its research indicates that incentives, including free cash offers, can prompt savers to move their pension without fully considering the long‑term......
Original news Mr S ( CAS-76177- C6M9)—25 September 2024 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed a complaint concerning differing charges between the closed and open parts of a master trust. Although the initial communications lacked clarity, the complainant was told from the outset that fees might not be the same, owing to distinct discounts negotiated by the employer. The scheme trustee was not obliged to provide tailored, member-specific explanations. This outcome acts as a prompt to ensure information given to members is straightforward and transparent... What were the facts? Mr S was a member of the Deloitte Section of the Standard Life DC Master Trust (the Scheme), which was operated by Standard Life ( SL)......
Original news Mr S ( CAS-44597- S2Z6)—17 October 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint about how the preservation laws were applied to a scheme’s benefit structure and accrual design. The scheme rules imposed both an accrual cap and an earnings cap. The Ombudsman concluded there was no breach of preservation legislation because the scheme’s uniform benefit accrual operated as an exception to the general principle that short-service benefits must be calculated on the same basis as long-service benefits. In addition, a 1989 change to HMRC rules did not require the removal of the caps that had been hard-coded into the scheme rules. The decision highlights that older HMRC provisions, once embedded within a pension scheme’s own rules, can be difficult to interpret and apply in practice. What were the facts? Mr S was a deferred member of the Svenska UK Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme (the...
In this issue: The Pensions Regulator Funding, surplus and investment Members and benefits Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers The Pensions Regulator TPR enhances oversight of the largest DC schemes to improve member outcomes The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) has unveiled enhancements to its supervision of master trusts and defined contribution ( DC) schemes after a 12‑month review. The redesigned model groups schemes into four supervisory segments with bespoke engagement to spot risks sooner and lift saver outcomes. These cover monoline, commercial and non‑commercial master trusts; collective DC schemes; and single plus connected employer DC schemes. TPR’s priorities are securing value for money for all savers and setting clear expectations on investments, data quality and at‑retirement innovation. Larger schemes will be supported by dedicated multi‑disciplinary teams to enable more targeted, expert‑level interactions. The change marks a tilt towards a more prudential regulatory stance, addressing...
Original news Mr R ( CAS-63759- L4H8)—20 August 2024 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed a grievance concerning entitlement to a guaranteed annuity rate. Accordingly, the complaint regarding the payment method tied to the guarantee failed. Under the policy conditions, the guarantee was only available as an annuity paid yearly in arrears. Should the member opt for monthly instalments, the guarantee would not apply. The member’s illustrations were generic projections and did not specify the form of annuity to be selected at retirement. The Ombudsman’s decision underscores the primacy of the policy wording. What were the facts? Mr R was a member of the Phoenix Life Personal Pension Plan (the Scheme) which was operated by Phoenix Life Limited ( Phoenix)......
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries stated its revised approach to the widely adopted Continuous Mortality Investigation ( CMI) is designed to capture better the notable post‑crisis rise in death rates among many younger Britons. A consultation on the plans remains open for comment until 25 March 2025. Specialists have cautioned that the CMI framework has been ‘creaking’ under the strain of the COVID‑19 pandemic, which was responsible for around 208,000 deaths between 2020–23. According to Cobus Daneel, chair of the CMI mortality projections committee, the COVID‑19 pandemic posed difficulties for all mortality projection models......
Popular documents
When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
