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

House of Commons Library briefing papers updated
ONS longevity data published
PPF publishes valuation assumptions consultation
Mr N v Northumbria Police Authority (TPO)

House of Commons Library briefing papers updated

The House of Commons library has updated various briefing papers:

Brexit – implications for private pensions, which follows discussions about the potential implications of Brexit for EU pensions. Among other things, it mentions the “temporary permissions” regime that the Government has committed to legislating for, if necessary, to allow EEA companies to continue to service insurance policies held by customers in the UK, and discusses the potential impact for pension schemes that operate cross-border under the IORP Directive
Frozen Overseas Pensions, looking at why the UK state pension is not uprated in certain overseas countries, the debates on this policy and recent legal challenge
Occupational pensions: survivors benefits for cohabitants, which looks at the development of survivors’ pensions for opposite sex cohabiting couples, particularly in public service pension schemes, and the decision of the Supreme Court in the Brewster case

ONS longevity data published

On 7 August 2018, the ONS published its latest longevity data, both in relation to the UK (Changing trends in mortality: a cross-UK comparison, 1981 to 2016), and internationally (Changing trends in mortality: an international comparison: 2000 to 2016).

Amongst other findings, the data shows a decrease in the rate of improvement in life expectancy for those aged 55 to 89 in the UK, and worsening mortality rates for those aged 15 to 54.

PPF publishes valuation assumptions consultation

The PPF has published a consultation setting out proposed changes to the assumptions used for valuations carried out under the Pensions Act 2004, in order to keep the assumptions in line with current pricing in the bulk annuity market.

The consultation closes on 21 September 2018. The Board proposes to introduce these changes for valuations with an effective date on or after 1 November 2018, subject to satisfactory consultation responses.

Mr N v Northumbria Police Authority (TPO)

TPO has upheld a complaint in a case where a member transferred his benefits, without having been provided with clear warnings that the receiving scheme may be a scam arrangement, as a result of which his benefits may have been lost or misappropriated.

Please see our case report for further detail.