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:

• HM Revenue & Customs
• National Association of Pension Funds
• Pension Protection Fund
• Pell Frischmann Consultants Limited v Prabhu

HM Revenue & Customs

Asset-backed contributions

HMRC has published updated guidance on employer asset-backed pension contributions.

For further details on such arrangements please see our Alert: “Employer Asset-Backed Contributions: The final piece of the ABC jigsaw?” dated 20 July 2012.

National Association of Pension Funds

Pension Quality Mark looks into raising standards of default funds

The Pension Quality Mark initiative was launched by the NAPF in September 2009. PQM is the only benchmark to distinguish a good quality DC pension.PQM standards currently focus on issues of governance, saver communications and employer contribution levels. PQM is now seeking industry views on what pension schemes should consider when setting the investment strategy for their default fund. Options include that the governing body in a DC scheme makes regular checks on the:

• suitability of the default investment option for members, including its risk and return balance, particularly when members are approaching retirement;
• investment performance of the default fund and charges of fund managers;
• quality of communications with savers about the default fund and other investment options, and the level of participation in the default option; and
• level of support available to members who are choosing not to invest in the default fund or for whom the default option may not be appropriate.

Alex Kitching, PQM Manager, said, “we would like to hear the views of the pension industry, employers and consumer groups on what factors should be considered when designing a good default fund. Our work in this area will build on the guidance developed by TPR and the DWP”.

PQM has set a deadline for responses of 20 September 2013. It plans to implement changes to the standards in April 2014.

Pension Protection Fund

Two New Non-executive Board Members

The PPF has announced the appointment of two new non-executive members, Alan Jenkins and Tom Joy, to its Board.

PPF Chairman, Lady Barbara Judge, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Alan and Tom as members of our board. We are directly protecting 182,000 members; we are expanding our operations by bringing member administration in-house by 2014 and have £15 billion of assets under management. Both Alan and Tom join us at an important time in our development. Their combined experience will help us in continuing to provide security to our members now and in the future.”

Pell Frischmann Consultants Limited v Prabhu

Click here to read a summary of this case.