Pensions Weekly Update – 31 August 2022

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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 PASA Pensions Dashboards Working Group has updated its data matching conventions guidance to help trustees and pension providers to decide how to set the criteria for digitally comparing and matching “find requests” from users of dashboards against their scheme records. Criteria will need to be set carefully, so that schemes can be confident that members are being matched with the correct records (otherwise data protection issues will arise). However, if the matching criteria is too stringent, this could result in pensions not being found and returned to dashboards, or partial matches (where members are requested to contact the scheme administrator). New chapters have been added to the guidance to emphasise the importance of engaging with this topic. Further guidance will be produced, including the scenario where more than one administrator is involved in the same scheme – for example, where a defined benefit scheme has a separately administered additional voluntary contribution facility. Separately, we have updated our Keys to Compliance handout, to reflect changes announced in the government’s response to dashboards consultation.
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that Dominic Harris will become The Pensions Ombudsman with effect from 16 January 2023. Anthony Arter will remain in post until then.
We expect a flurry of activity on pensions awareness to engage the general public in the coming weeks. A programme of live shows will run from 12 to 16 September 2022 as part of pensions awareness season. The “Pay Your Pension Some Attention” cross-industry campaign will run through the autumn with a series of activities and events – we are promised a “big launch” on 8 September. Separately, we remind our readers of our #AttentionPensions resources, which can be found in our thought leadership library.
Join us for our (in-person) breakfast seminar on 6 September 2022, when, in collaboration with Edward Cumming QC, our colleagues will be taking a look at the implications of the decision in Butler-Sloss v Charity Commission and the rise in ESG-related litigation. Register here for this seminar.
Look out for our annual Pensions Lessons for Trustees publication, with a back-to-school theme, which will be published to coincide with the new academic year. This will offer a comprehensive, action-focused roundup up of current issues affecting occupational pension schemes.