Trustee Agenda Autumn 2021
Welcome to our Autumn edition of Trustee Agenda for 2021.
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us and so is the time for our Autumn edition of Trustee Agenda.
It will come as no surprise that, in this edition, we look at the new powers given to the Pensions Regulator under the Pension Schemes Act 2021 to issue contribution notices; although these powers are not yet in force, their impact is already being felt by our trustee clients as their scheme sponsors press for early engagement in connection with corporate activity ranging from the payment of dividends to full scale business reorganisations. We also focus on: a number of key developments affecting defined contribution provision (a topic of increasing importance as many schemes close to ongoing defined benefit accrual and offer future service benefits on a money purchase basis); draft regulations which are designed to enable trustees to prevent transfers to “scam” arrangements but which are not entirely free from difficulty; and new climate change requirements for larger schemes which will bite from October.
As always we have been guided by our clients in setting the agenda and would welcome suggestions for topics to be included in our Winter edition. In the interim, though, there is, inevitably, much to keep us occupied as gathering swallows twitter in the skies.