News

Find out what’s happening at Sackers. Our News section provides information about recent work, press comment and media coverage, and what our people are doing.

Latest News

Scheme Funding – the nightmare before Christmas (!)

Whilst the scheme funding process is contained in the Pensions Act 2004, much of the detail was left to Regulations and to a Code of Practice to be issued by the Pensions Regulator. After a number of delays, the final Scheme Funding...

Cross border – new order

The Pensions Act 2004 transposed the cross border requirements of the European Pensions Directive into UK law. The reason the designation as a cross-border pension scheme is important is that it brings with it a need to be “fully...

Desperately seeking enhanced protection?

Enhanced protection is potentially hugely advantageous because it provides an exemption from the lifetime allowance (LTA) charge when benefits come into payment. In contrast, primary protection simply raises the threshold at which the LTA...

Pensions Commission comes in from the cold

Rarely has pensions been such an overtly political issue. On 30 November 2005, after weeks of speculation on – and allegedly objections to – its contents, the Pension Commission’s Second Report finally came in from the...

Civil partnernship and occupational pension schemes

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA) comes into force on 5 December 2005 which will allow the first civil partnerships to be formed by Christmas. CPA is designed to provide a system of registration for same-sex relationships and does not...

The new funding standard – the Regulator’s role

After a series of delays, the new statutory funding objective (SFO) will finally replace the much maligned minimum funding requirement on 30 December 2005. It is the Pensions Regulator’s job not only to ensure that trustees and...

European Pensions Directive – Update

The Pensions Act 2004 transposed a number of the provisions of the European Pensions Directive into UK law. This Alert identifies some unexpected effects of the Directive on the activities of UK pension schemes from 22 September 2005....