7 days


7 Days is a weekly round up of developments in pensions, normally published on Monday afternoons. We collate this information from key industry sources, such as the DWP, HMRC and TPR.

In this 7 Days

Proposed benefit and pension rates 2020/21

The proposed benefit and pension rates for 2020/21 have been published by the DWP. From 6 April 2020, the Basic State Pension will rise to £134.25, and the full rate of the new State Pension will rise to £175.20, per week.

Consultation on technical advice and standards for PEPP

EIOPA has released a consultation paper on the proposed approaches and considerations for its Technical Advice, Implementing and Regulatory Technical Standards under the regulation for a “pan-European personal pension product” (PEPP) (see 7 days). The consultation closes on 2 March 2020.

ICO campaign on data protection fee

On 3 December 2019, the ICO launched a campaign to contact all registered companies in the UK reminding them of their legal responsibility to pay a data protection fee. The blog post announcing the campaign states that this move marks the start of “an extensive programme” to make sure the fee is paid by all those who need to pay it.

The announcement highlights that between 1 July and 30 September 2019, the ICO issued 340 monetary penalties for non-payment of the data protection fee and refers organisations to its self-assessment checker to check whether they need to pay.

ICO consultation on subject access guidance

The ICO launched a consultation on 4 December 2019 to gather views on more detailed draft guidance on subject access requests. The guidance aims to explain, in greater detail than the current guidance, the rights that individuals have to access their personal data and the obligations on controllers. The draft guidance also explores the special rules involving certain categories of personal data, how to deal with requests involving the personal data of others, and the exemptions that are most likely to apply in practice when handling a request. The consultation closes on 12 February 2020.