RIP contracting-out: gone but not forgotten

Chinese New Year, the Budget, the Six Nations, Easter and the Cricket T20 World Cup have all come and gone already in 2016. Something else that’s been with us for a long time has also finished . . . rest in peace contracting-out.

You’ve certainly made our lives interesting over the last 38 years, whether it be understanding SERPS or S2P, working out the reference scheme test or knowing the difference between a pre-88 GMP, a post-88 GMP or section 92b rights, but your days of adding complexity to the pensions landscape are at an end.

There’s no time to mourn you, though. It’s time now to focus our energy on dealing with millions of contracted-out records and reconciling the differences in data held by schemes and HMRC. And to consider what pension provision should look like in the future and how much it will cost both individuals and employers.

I’m not sure there’ll be anything like you again, but your legacy will be with us for some time to come.