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
- TPR publishes blog on questioning investment strategies
- PDP requests responses to dashboards standards consultation as deadline approaches
- FCA comments on further actions needed in relation to LIBOR transition
TPR publishes blog on questioning investment strategies
On 16 August 2022, TPR published a blog discussing the importance of asking questions in relation to investment strategies. It “almost goes without saying” that TPR expects trustees to “monitor their scheme’s investment, risk management and arrangements on an ongoing basis”, taking action “as appropriate”, and “for trustees and advisers to work well together to manage scheme risks”. In doing so, trustees should consider both operational as well as strategic risks, and be prepared that TPR could ask questions such as:
- how do trustees justify the level of risk taken?
- is there a “Plan B” if it goes wrong?
- if investments needed to be derisked quickly, how could trustees do it?
PDP requests responses to dashboards standards consultation as deadline approaches
On 17 August 2022, the PDP published a press release encouraging as many responses as possible to its consultation on draft standards and guidance on pensions dashboards before the 30 August 2022 deadline (see our Alert for more details). The PDP will publish the consultation response and final standards documents “in the winter”.
FCA comments on further actions needed in relation to LIBOR transition
In a statement published on 16 August 2022, the FCA noted that action is needed to “transition outstanding LIBOR-linked bonds to fair alternative rates”. See our June 2021 FIG briefing for details of the LIBOR transition. Trustees may wish to confirm with their investment advisers whether there are any further actions for their scheme in relation to LIBOR.