After years of consultations and speculation, TPR hailed the new DB funding requirements as a “key milestone in delivering the significant package of work to improve the security and sustainability of DB pensions”. With the DWP regulations already finalised, and the accompanying Code recently laid before Parliament, key pieces of the new regime’s jigsaw are finally slotting into place.
The new requirements are set to apply to valuations with effective dates on or after 22 September, so we look at the key practical implications for trustees, employers and their advisers, including:
• the steps involved in complying with the new funding and investment strategy requirement
• existing flexibilities that have been preserved in the new regime’s final cut
• the ground the new statement of strategy will need to cover
• recognising open schemes’ unique characteristics
• the different funding tracks that DB pension schemes might follow
• what other consultations and guidance are still to come
• if all goes well, what can and should schemes be doing with any surplus?