Pensions Weekly Update – 11 August 2021

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Here is our weekly summary of key legal and regulatory developments relevant to occupational pension schemes, which you might have missed, with links for further information.

The prime minister and the chancellor have written an open letter to industry, challenging UK institutional investors, such as pension funds, to consider investing a greater proportion of capital in long-term UK assets in order to help drive the UK's recovery from the pandemic. The letter talks about needing an "Investment Big Bang" to unlock the hundreds of billions of pounds sitting with UK institutional investors. The letter does, however, acknowledge that choosing which assets to invest in remains a matter for pension fund trustees and other custodians of institutional capital.
Meanwhile, it has been reported in the press that The Pensions Regulator (TPR) intends to drop the 20% cap proposed in its draft single code of practice on the proportion of pension funds’ assets that can be invested in assets that are not traded on regulated markets. TPR had intended this cap to protect members of poorly run small schemes from the risks associated with irregular investments but acknowledges that its message needs to be reconsidered.
Look out for our roadmap on TPR’s draft single code of practice in the next few days. This sets out simple steps for trustees to plot their route towards full compliance. Here is a link to last month’s webinar recording on the single code in case you have not yet had the opportunity to listen to this.

If you would like specific advice on any of these issues, or on anything else, please contact a member of our Pensions team.