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 industry is expecting to be busy over the next few months.
The chancellor’s first budget will take place on Wednesday 28 October.
This is closely followed by the deadline for responding to the consultation on draft regulations relating to the conversion of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) on 29 October 2026. The draft regulations build on the Pension Schemes (Conversion of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions) Act 2022, which is not yet in force, but once in force, this act, along with the regulations, will set out how survivors’ benefits should be treated and from whom trustees must seek consent to a GMP conversion exercise.
31 October 2026 is a big day for schemes with 100 or more relevant members. This is the dashboards connection deadline. Seek advice if your scheme has concerns about complying with dashboards duties.
While the Pension Schemes Act 2026 contains what is colloquially known as the “Virgin Media remedy”, further relevant detail may be contained in the court’s decision in Verity Trustees v. Wood, which is still awaited.
We are also waiting for a consultation on guidance around trustees’ fiduciary duties, which has been developed by a technical working party with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
In this blog post, our colleagues look at the consultation on modernising corporate reporting, which proposes wide-ranging changes to the UK’s corporate reporting framework, including the provisions that currently underpin environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting for corporates. The blog considers the potential impact for investors (such as pension funds).
If you would like specific advice on any of these issues or anything else, please contact a member of our Pensions team.
