Pensions Weekly Update – 26 June 2024

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

The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has published a blog on TPO’s operating model review. TPO has said that changes will be made to reduce the backlog of cases and improve the customer journey. This includes requiring all complainants to have exhausted a scheme’s internal dispute resolution procedure before making a complaint to TPO. A stakeholder forum is being held on 27 June 2024.
The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has published an environmental, social and governance (ESG) guide to assist pension trustees to engage with their asset managers. The guide contains an outline of ESG disclosure requirements for both pension funds and asset managers and includes checklists of information that trustees should request from their asset managers to enable them to comply with trustees’ reporting and disclosure obligations.
As part of its series of briefing papers in the lead up to the general election, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published a briefing paper on automatic enrolment contributions. This includes an overview of current contribution levels, and analysis of who is impacted by any increase to contribution rates, as well as exploring some thoughts around possible policy options for the next government.
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has updated its master trust transition guidance. This was originally published in 2019 and includes model migration project plans that are designed to support trustees, employers and administrators in completing an accurate and timely transition project.
Our latest blog on ESG considers what The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and government have been doing recently on the ESG front, and also includes a reminder to make sure that your scheme’s current implementation statement has been published online in a freely accessible format. This is particularly important for those schemes with a 31 December year end because their new implementation statements will need to be published by 31 July 2024.

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