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

• Draft Insolvency (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 published
• FCA launches further consultations ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU
• HMRC publishes Pension schemes newsletter 105
• Pension Wise service evaluation 2017 to 2018 published
• TPR publishes guidance on triggering event duties for master trusts

Draft Insolvency (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 published

The Insolvency (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 were published in draft on 20 November 2018.

The regulations are made under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 with the aim of addressing failures of retained EU law to operate effectively post Brexit and other deficiencies arising from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, in relation to cross-border insolvency.

In relation to pensions, the regulations remove relevant cross-references to current EU regulation on cross-border insolvency and replace these with alternative provisions in the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations 2005 and the Pension Schemes Act 1993.

These regulations are largely due to come into force on exit day.

FCA launches further consultations ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU

On 23 November 2018, the FCA published a consultation on its approach to the UK’s exit from the EU. The paper sets out additional proposals to prepare for the possibility the UK leaves the European Union on 29 March 2019 without an implementation period.

The consultation paper principally focuses on a range of Handbook and “Binding Technical Standards” amendments not included in the FCA’s earlier consultation papers issued in October.  It also consults on:

• further amendments to the Handbook regarding the “temporary permissions regime”
• amendments to the Handbook to reflect the new Credit Rating Agency and Trade Repository regimes
• its approach to non-Handbook guidance and to forms that appear in the Handbook.

The consultation is open until 21 December 2018.

HMRC publishes Pension schemes newsletter 105

HMRC published Pension schemes newsletter 105 on 23 November 2018. It includes a joint article from HMRC and TPR in relation to pensions tax relief and net pay arrangements, and information on:

• double taxation – bulk requests for certificates of residence
• reporting of non-taxable death benefits.

Pension Wise service evaluation 2017 to 2018 published

The DWP has published a report on its analysis of quantitative research undertaken with Pension Wise customers, as well as those who were eligible for the service but did not use it. The research (carried out by Ipsos MORI, on behalf of Pension Wise) measures the success of the service in terms of customer experiences and the outcomes achieved, relative to non-users.

The report looked at customer satisfaction, advocacy and the impact of the service in terms of:

• customers’ understanding of their pension options
• customers’ confidence in avoiding scams
• the positive steps customers are taking towards finalising their pension access arrangements.

Both face-to-face appointments and telephone appointments were up over 30% from the previous year, with satisfaction levels remaining in line with those in 2016/17.

Findings from the research will be used to support future design and delivery of the Pension Wise service within the Single Financial Guidance Body.

TPR publishes guidance on triggering event duties for master trusts

The DC master trust authorisation regime came into force on 1 October 2018.

TPR has now published guidance on the duty that those involved with running master trust pension schemes have to notify TPR about certain triggering events that may indicate that the scheme cannot continue to operate.