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
- Pensions announcement in the Chancellor’s Growth Plan 2022
- TPR warns employers about auto-enrolment (AE) compliance
- TPR publishes podcast on pensions dashboard penalties
Pensions announcement in the Chancellor’s Growth Plan 2022
On 23 September 2022, the Government announced the Growth Plan 2022. The measures include an intention to accelerate legislation which would remove well-designed performance fees from the DC charge cap, aiming to give DC schemes “the clarity and flexibility to invest in the UK’s most innovative businesses and productive assets creating opportunities to deliver higher returns for savers”.
This announcement follows the March 2022 response to a consultation on exempting certain performance-based fees from the charge cap. Acknowledging the “mixed reaction” to the proposal, the response confirmed that the DWP could consult on principle-based draft guidance alongside any draft regulations.
TPR warns employers about auto-enrolment (AE) compliance
In a press release published on 26 September 2022, TPR announced it is warning employers to ensure they are complying with their ongoing AE duties, after inspectors found a number of employers were making administrative errors after enrolling staff. In particular, a number of employers have been miscalculating contribution rates due to using incorrect earnings thresholds.
TPR has also published its compliance and enforcement bulletin detailing enforcement activity carried out during the period January to June 2022. This includes 13,604 notices for unpaid contributions.
TPR publishes podcast on pensions dashboard penalties
On 21 September 2022, TPR published a podcast discussing, among other matters, TPR’s approach to compliance and enforcement in relation to dashboard requirements. While TPR intends to engage with the industry on challenges and issues faced in implementing dashboards, it intends to “take a robust approach to organisations that have not put the right effort in”. David Fairs, TPR’s Executive Director of Regulatory Policy, Analysis and Advice, confirmed that TPR’s consultation on its compliance and enforcement policy for dashboards will be published after the pensions dashboard regulations are laid before Parliament later this year.
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