New reasons to double down on efforts to build pension scheme cyber resilience

At a recent discussion forum on cyber risks for pension schemes, I was struck by a theme emerging from the questions being asked: that, while in the past cyber had been just another one of the risks that trustees should acknowledge, there...

Flexibility for longevity swaps in the long term

There has been a recent increase in the volume of longevity swaps being entered into by pension schemes. In 2020, the reported transaction volume for longevity swaps was judged by one consultant to be three quarters of the volume of...

New FCA/TPR “regulated advice” guidance: shades of grey

On 30 March 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) issued updated joint guidance for employers and trustees on “providing support with financial matters without needing to be subject to FCA...

Crossroads for cross-border schemes

Certain regulatory requirements in relation to cross-border arrangements have fallen away post-Brexit. More recently, the Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) has updated its guidance for cross-border occupational pension schemes following the...

Top ten tips for trustee minute taking – A lawyer’s perspective

Taking trustee meeting minutes is an art form. Quarterly trustee meetings, in particular, often tackle a wide range of technical and potentially sensitive issues. The move to video-conferencing (and the IT challenges which have come with...

Data breaches and cyber attacks – managing the consequences

We all appreciate that pension schemes are increasingly coming onto the radar in the fields of data breaches and cyber controls, just as much as large corporations, government bodies and the financial services sector more widely.  The...

Trustee protections – are we covered?

Discussions about trustee protection used to be pretty straightforward. Employers were mostly content to give, and trustees to rely on, a broad indemnity both during the life of the scheme and following wind up. Members would get their...

GMP equalisation and buy-ins

Equalising benefits, particularly for the effects of unequal Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (“GMP equalisation”) has, for some time, been a pre-condition for insurers converting a buy-in policy in the name of the trustees to individual...

What might an extension to the commercial property eviction ban mean for pension sche...

The current commercial property “eviction ban” (more accurately, but less headline-grabbing, it’s a moratorium on a landlord’s right of re-entry or forfeiture for non-payment of rent) is due to expire at the end of March. It has...

Need to report a data breach? Brushing up your data breach policies? Have a read of s...

New guidelines on reporting data breaches were published in draft form in January this year by the body in charge of data protection rules in the EU (the “EDPB”). These new guidelines aren’t likely to apply to controllers who mainly...