Pensions Insight: August to September 2024

In this insight we provide our usual update on recent pensions developments including the payment of £9.8m compensation to Norton Motorcycles pension scheme members and the PDP’s latest publications.

FCF pays £9.8m in compensation to Norton Motorcycles pension scheme members

The Fraud Compensation Fund has paid £9.8m in compensation in respect of three pension schemes whose members’ benefits were lost after unlawful employer-related investment of scheme funds by the former sole trustee in his own company, Norton Motorcycles Holding Ltd. The funds will be used by Standard Life to provide scheme benefits to more than 200 members.

The payment follows a November 2020 High Court ruling that the FCF can compensate pension scam victims who were incentivised to transfer out from genuine occupational pension arrangements. Since this decision, the FCF has provided compensation of c.£50m to members of 28 schemes and anticipates that it will receive another 100 claims valued at over £400m.

The FCF press release also references the Work and Pensions Committee’s 2023 inquiry into the lessons that can be learned from the Norton case – the general election has delayed publication of the report but central points from the inquiry were published back in May.

PDP updated draft code of connection

The Pensions Dashboards Programme has updated the draft code of connection – the change log details the changes made since the previous version.

The code outlines how pension providers, schemes and dashboard providers should connect to the dashboards ecosystem, and requirements in respect of staying connected. It covers security, service and operational standards. The standards are mandatory and may be admitted in any proceedings relating to compliance with dashboards duties.

The code is in draft form until it is approved by the Work and Pensions Secretary and may be subject to change before finalisation (but can be used by relevant parties for preparation purposes).

Action: schemes in scope (those with 100 or more active, deferred or pension credit members) should continue their preparations for connecting to dashboards which will involve meeting the requirements of any PDP standards.

TPR publishes its Pensions Dashboard compliance and enforcement policy

The Pensions Regulator (the TPR) has published its policy on how it intends to ensure compliance and subsequent enforcement of the occupational pension schemes duties under the Dashboard Regulations.

The policy targets the trustees and managers of occupational pension schemes, as well as providing the TPR with a framework to pursue third parties who, in providing their services connecting schemes to the dashboard, cause the scheme to be in breach of the Dashboard Regulations.

The Government launches phase one of the pensions investment review

Following the Government’s announcement on 20 July 2024 confirming the launch of the 2024 review into the UK pensions industry, there has now been an open call for evidence. The first phase aims to boost investment, increase saver returns and tackle waste in the pensions system and will focus on defined contribution workplace schemes and the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The evidence covers three main topics:

• Scale and consolidation
• Cost v value
• Investing in the UK

The call for evidence closes on 25 September 2024.