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

Schemes to have 50% member-nominated trustees

Proposals to ensure that 50% of pension scheme trustees are member-nominated (“MNTs”) have been announced by the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson. The changes, which were unveiled at the TUC Conference...

Disability discrimination law post 1 October 2004

On 1 October 2004, significant changes to disability discrimination legislation come into force which will affect both employers and trustees of occupational pension schemes. The impetus behind the changes is the EU Framework Directive on...

Further proposed changes to winding-up legislation

In an attempt to protect further the position of members whose defined benefit scheme is winding-up, the Government has published proposals to change the winding-up legislation. The main changes focus on raising the level of debt triggered...

Smoothing the transition from the MFR

Proposed amendments are on the cards to help smooth the transition from the minimum funding requirement (“MFR”) to the new statutory funding objective set out under the Pensions Bill 2004. Here we summaries the main...

Tax simplification – the implications for high earners

In the countdown to “A-Day” (6 April 2006), a major concern for employers and trustees of occupational pension schemes is the need to communicate the new system to members. High earners are likely to be a priority because of...

New moves to curb pension liberation

So-called “pension liberation” or “trust busting” sounds dramatic but what does it mean? And what are trustees expected to do about it when making transfer payments? Opra recently published Update 8 to help trustees...

Pensions Reform – a tale of two Bills

The Finance Bill officially became an Act when it received Royal Asset on 22 July 2004. The Act paves the way for pensions tax simplification from A-Day, 6 April 2006, when the current eight pension tax regimes will be replaced by a single...