Delay to regulations on oversight of investment consultants & fiduciary managers

Regulations to replace the Competition and Markets Authority’s Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019 have been postponed until ‘the first half of 2022.’ Until then, trustees, consultants and fiduciary managers will have to continue to comply with the Order.

Recent judgments & determinations

Recent rulings by the courts and Pensions Ombudsman have included an employment-law case with pensions implications, a slight twist to the fall-out from the 2014/15 public-service scheme reforms, a determination on the extent of trustees’ obligations to disclose meeting minutes, and some reassuring news for companies involved in transfers of insurance business.

ONS pensions surveys

The Office for National Statistics has published data from the last Occupational Pension Schemes Survey (OPSS) that it will produce, and statistics from the quarterly Financial Survey of Pension Schemes (FSPS) that has largely replaced it.

2020 survey of trust-based DC schemes

The Pensions Regulator has published the results of a 2020 survey of trust-based defined contribution (DC) schemes. It was carried out between January and March 2020, based on interviews with those involved in the management of 216 DC schemes (16 of which were master trusts).

HMRC newsletters

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published Pension Schemes Newsletter 127. This edition has some information on the practitioner registration and authorization features of the Managing Pension Schemes online service, which are due to become available in March 2021.