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:

HMRC publishes Pensions Newsletter 59
HMRC publishes minutes from the Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum
HMRC launches AA checking tool
ICO publishes consultation on the “Conducting privacy impact assessments code of practice”
NAPF announces appointment of new director to PQM Board
Fantastic start for automatic enrolment but more to do, says NEST
PASA publishes guide to accreditation
PPF Announces New Legal Panel
TPAS: British savings habits are changing
TPR consults on compliance and enforcement in DC schemes
HK Danmark v Experian A/S (CJEU) – 26 September 2013
Mr F White (Pensions Ombudsman) – 30 August 2013

HMRC publishes Pensions Newsletter 59

On 7 October 2013, HMRC published Pensions Newsletter 59. It includes information on:

Fixed protection 2014;
the AA;
updated forms for qualifying registered overseas pension schemes; and
a pension liberation update.

HMRC publishes minutes from the Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum

HMRC has published the minutes from the Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum which took place on 29 April 2013.

HMRC launches AA checking tool

HMRC has launched a new AA checking tool for pension scheme members to check whether they need to calculate an annual allowance tax liability and complete a Self Assessment tax return.

ICO publishes consultation on the “Conducting privacy impact assessments code of practice”

ICO is consulting on the new code of practice on conducting privacy impact assessments (PIAs) which is intended to replace the current PIA Handbook. The aim of the new code is to produce a practical guide which will help organisations conduct assessments of new projects that involve the use of personal information. For example, a new policy which will identify people in a particular group or demographic and initiate a course of action, or using existing data for a new and unexpected or more intrusive purpose.

The draft code explains the key principles behind a PIA and suggests how a PIA can be integrated with an organisation’s project and risk management processes.

The ICO is consulting to gather the views of stakeholders and the public about the new draft code on PIAs. These views will inform the final version.

The closing date for the consultation is 5 November 2013. The ICO will publish the finalised PIA code on this website along with a summary of consultation responses.

NAPF announces appointment of new director to PQM Board

On Tuesday 1 October, the Pension Quality Mark (PQM) and the NAPF announced the appointment of three key figures to PQM’s Board of Directors.

Lord Hutton, former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Vicky Wright of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development have both been appointed as non-executive directors. Julian Mund – who recently joined the NAPF as Business Development Director – has been appointed as an executive director. All three will take up their new positions on 3 October 2013 at the next PQM Board meeting.

Fantastic start for automatic enrolment but more to do, says NEST

On the one-year anniversary of automatic enrolment, Tim Jones, CEO of NEST commented:

‘From evidence over the past 12 months, it is clear that savers responded far more positively to automatic enrolment than we as an industry thought possible – with opt-out rates of less than 10 per cent.

‘We have also learnt that employers are rising to the challenge by building automatic enrolment into their core business processes.

‘Automatic enrolment has had a fantastic start but it is just a start. By 2018 around 11 million more workers will be saving for their retirement – we are proud to be a part of that.’

PASA publishes guide to accreditation

PASA Accreditation demonstrates to clients that an administration operation complies with the PASA standards for good quality administration.

PASA have prepared “A guide to Accreditation” which is designed to help applicants who are considering seeking accreditation.

PPF Announces New Legal Panel

The PPF has announced the appointment of 23 firms (including Sackers) to its restructured legal panel.

TPAS: British savings habits are changing

TPAS have commented upon the findings of a joint report by NEST and research house the Futures Company. The report suggests that money worries during the recession have given way to an increasing sense of personal financial responsibility.

One of the most significant examples of this trend is the response to the Government’s new automatic enrolment workplace pension reforms, with opt out rates considerably lower than many had forecast.

The report finds:

58 per cent of people in the UK agree that ‘this recession has changed global consumer culture forever’, a shift in attitudes that has affected how people manage their money day to day and how they think about their future.
More than half of British consumers think they’ll never spend money as freely as they did before the recession and more than two thirds now think twice before making even the smallest purchases.
Consumers are half as likely to have unsecured debt as two years ago, they have paid off credit card debts and only a tiny fraction now owe money on store cards.
Consumers today keep track of exactly how much money they spend, regularly use comparison websites to make the most of their money and spend a lot of time shopping around for the best deal.

TPR consults on compliance and enforcement in DC schemes

TPR has set out its overall framework for regulating the governance and administration of DC schemes in its DC regulatory strategy, published on 2 October 2013 and DC Code, (due to become effective in November 2013).

The consultation, closes on 31 October, focuses on TPR’s compliance and enforcement policy which sets out TPR’s approach in relation to enforcement for occupational DC trust-based pension schemes.

In broad terms, the draft policy explains:

how TPR will identify and assess risk in DC through its risk framework and how this forms the basis for TPR’s operational activity;
TPR’s approach to monitoring DC schemes through its reactive and proactive work, in particular how TPR will monitor the market to identify schemes which are not complying with their legal obligations;
how a DC scheme may be investigated by a case team and what happens if it is; and,
the enforcement options available to us and how we make enforcement decisions (with illustrative examples).

TPR would particularly like to hear from trustees, their advisers and other interested stakeholders on whether the draft policy gives sufficient and clear information about how TPR intends to carry out its compliance and enforcement activity and what it will expect from the parties involved.

HK Danmark v Experian A/S (CJEU) – 26 September 2013

A former employee claimed that Experian’s payment of age-related contributions to its DC occupational pension scheme was unlawful age discrimination. The CJEU concluded that age related contributions could be objectively justified. But, it is now up to the Danish national courts to decide whether they are an appropriate and necessary measure to achieve the legitimate aim.

Click here to read a full summary of this case.

Mr F White (Pensions Ombudsman) – 30 August 2013

This PO decision demonstrates the importance of clear and accurate communications, particularly in relation to DC investment options.

The member was awarded compensation for actual loss and non-financial injustice following receipt of misleading information from the AVC provider on the risk profile of and underlying investments in his chosen investment fund.