New duties for master trust pension schemes
24 May 2017
The Pension Schemes Act 2017 places new duties on those involved with running master trust pension schemes.
This includes an immediate duty to report certain events known as ‘triggering events’ to The Pensions Regulator and to not increase charges for scheme members as a result of these events. These duties take retrospective effect from 20 October 2016.
Failing to comply with the duties may result in a penalty of up to £5,000 for an individual and £50,000 in any other case.
The Pension Schemes Act 2017 also introduces measures for authorising and supervising master trusts and new powers for The Pensions Regulator. Authorisation will start after regulations have been developed.
The Pensions Regulator expects those involved with running master trusts to understand how the 2017 Act affects their scheme now, and to start making preparations for the future.
A list of triggering events and who must report them can be found on the Pension Regulator's website.