2018 in Pensions

State Pension Age finally equalised at 65 for men and women in October and now is set to increase to 66 and 67 over the next 10 years, with further increases inevitable as life expectancies continue to grow…or do they? The ONS has published figures suggesting that increases in life expectancy has slowed dramatically and in some areas of the UK stopped altogether. Could 2018 be the turning point? Time will tell.

The cat was really put amongst the pigeons (despite being let out of the bag many, many moons ago) when a High Court ruling confirmed what we expected all along – that formerly contracted-out DB pensions do have to be equalised “for the effects of” Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs) – the only questions being how? And when?

The case considered several different methods for equalising and it is expected that the DWP will shortly update its guidance last issued in 2013 to spell out how affected ongoing schemes should proceed.  In the meantime, sponsoring companies are considering the costs – in particular (and for many in the very near term) what the impact on their corporate balance sheet might be.  And with auditors being reminded by their own governing bodies of the need to be robust in pension audit (following some discrepancies earlier in the year) they are expecting to see detailed calculations rather than a broad brush estimate.

It is clear many members (perhaps over 100,000) took advantage of the ability to completely re-shape their DB pension benefits by opting to transfer out of their DB scheme.  Whilst many members will have been satisfied with the transfer, it became clear from press reports, FCA investigations and the spotlight placed on the issue by the Work and Pensions Select Committee that a lot of individuals were receiving inappropriate advice, leading to cries of the next pensions mis-selling scandal.

The second policy statement from the FCA to address this was issued in October raising the minimum standards of advice and widening the factors to be taken into consideration.  However it kicked into 2019 one of the most contentious issues it consulted on: whether to ban contingent charging models.  As such the demand for, and debate about, DB transfer values and IFAs’ role in facilitating them will continue well into 2019 and beyond.

The Equitable Life saga – dragging on since 1999 – looks to be nearing a long-overdue conclusion as its with-profits policies are transferred to Reliance Life, and members’ fund values enhanced.

Half year data shows 2018 to be a very busy year for bulk annuity business.  Expectations based on this and further substantive deals (Airways Pension Scheme and BHS2 Pension Scheme) result in expectations that over £20bn of business will be placed in 2018 with similar levels predicted for 2019. 

Somewhat more predictable was the outcome of Dominic Chappell’s challenge of his criminal conviction for failing to provide TPR with the information it needed in relation to the collapse of BHS.      

The Second BHS scheme (BHS2) – the £800m ‘remnants’ of the original BHS scheme that did not transfer to the PPF completed a buyout in the Autumn.

The PPF is now having to review its rules for calculating pension scheme members’ compensation after the European courts ruled that the £39,000 compensation cap was incompatible with the requirement that such an insurance arrangement must provide at least 50% of the benefits that would have been expected if the sponsoring employer had not gone bust.

The tax year started in April with the planned step up in minimum contributions for auto-enrolment, and new rules for multi-employer schemes allowing the triggering of a debt to be deferred if one of the participating companies ceases to employ active members.

Pot-follows-member was all but abandoned shortly after this (though the Pensions Dashboard is still very much a live project).   And the Supreme Court ruled on ‘what is a worker’ in the Pimlico Plumbers case.

CVAs seem to be flavour of the month / year / decade – House of Fraser being one of the latest firms to explore the possibility with the PPF (albeit to no avail after the company went into administration and entered PPF assessment anyway).   In a-not-unrelated development, the PPF published CVA guidance for firms in the middle of the year.

In the White Paper (see above), the Government said it intended to strengthen TPR’s powers in relation to corporate transactions, with a particular eye on those who “deliberately put their pension schemes at risk”. Expanding on this, the DWP launched a consultation: “Protecting defined benefit pension schemes – a stronger Pensions Regulator”, in which it proposed additional responsibilities for trustees and employers to inform TPR (via a “statement of intent”) of certain planned corporate activities before they actually occur.   

Furthermore new standalone powers will eventually give TPR the ability to compel a person to “attend an interview and explain any facts, events or circumstances” relevant to TPR’s investigations.

TPR will be given the power to “inspect records, documents and electronic devices” of relevant parties, and an expanded “Notifiable Events” framework will lead to more mandatory reports to the regulator about corporate transactions.

And, where a sponsoring employer intends to enter a “relevant business transaction”, a declaration of intent must be agreed with the DB scheme trustees and submitted to TPR before the transaction is formalised.

Arguably, the biggest story (and certainly one of the largest headaches) of the year came to a head in late May 2018.   The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force across Europe – with little to no lead-in time (though, in fairness, ample warning!)

Pension schemes, advisors and trustees grappled with data mapping, privacy notices and data protection policies.  This particular journey is far from over – it may never be – as we all have ongoing responsibilities to process personal data in an open and transparent manner, developing our cyber-security systems as fast as hackers and phishers can develop theirs.

Though our focus may have been on the White Paper and the first shoots of CDC schemes, the early part of the year also saw Carillion and Toys R Us go into administration – the former leaving behind around £600m of unfunded pension liabilities.  

Contrary to some commentators’ expectations, there was no mention of CDC schemes in the pensions White Paper despite the Royal Mail having agreed in principle with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that employees would gain access to CDC pension benefits, once the legislative barriers had been removed.

Since then, we have seen the Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee conduct its own review before the Government eventually published a fairly wide-ranging consultation on how it might make CDC schemes happen – labelled by some as the next great pensions revolution.

With Easter already on the horizon, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) unveiled its White Paper to the world – promising a fresh new look at the way occupational pensions operate in the UK.  

Additional powers for TPR were consulted on later in the Summer (see below), and TPR is now working on an updated Code of Practice which will set out how prudence can be demonstrated in a scheme funding context.  TPR will consult this year on how “prudence and appropriateness” might be defined to provide better balance for employers, trustees and members.

The DWP is expected to consult later this year on a legislative framework for, and raising awareness of, the potential benefits of consolidation of defined benefit schemes.

The DWP did however rule out measures overriding pension increase provisions in schemes’ trust deed and rules, though will “continue to monitor developments in the use of inflation indices”.  Following on from the Barnardos and BT cases, we expect more developments in this regard.