The Pensions Regulator has published the first part of a communications package designed to help trustees prepare for the April at-retirement reforms.
The package will include guidance on new rules about governance and charge controls, on member requests for transfers from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes in order to access the new pension flexibilities - a draft version of which will be published for consultation tomorrow and closes on 17 March.
Further guidance will be published next month following on from new Department for Work and Pensions regulations on the pension flexibilities, including how trustees should direct their members to the new Pensions Wise service.
The regulator is also updating its pension liberation communication materials called Scorpion next month to help members understand the risks of pensions and investment scams, which it expects to evolve as a result of the new pension freedoms.
Stephen Soper, the regulator’s interim chief executive, stated that it will be supporting trustees and managers through this period of intense change by giving them tools they need to understand their new responsibilities and their role in communicating to members about the impact of their retirement choices.
“As well as our own material, we’re working with the DWP, Treasury, FCA, Money Advice Service, Pensions Advisory Service and others to make sure that a suite of information about the new pensions flexibilities is available and we will signpost trustees and managers to this as it develops.”
The ‘essential guide’ for DC trustees and managers covers key topics such as meeting new governance standards, the appointment of a chair and the annual completion of their statement, new charge controls and further governance standards for master trusts.
The regulator’s executive director for DC, Andrew Warwick-Thompson, added that the new minimum governance standards complement the existing DC code of practice, providing a stronger foundation in law for the standards expected of trustees.
“In the meantime, we expect trustees to still refer to the existing DC code, which we will update later this year to reflect the April 2015 legislative changes, and we will continue to highlight to trustees any changes in the law.”
John Reeve, a senior consultant at Premier Pensions, previously told FTAdviser that the new freedoms put DC trustees in a “really difficult” position in relation to regulatory guidance that states they must help members to “optimise” retirement income.
He argued that given the variety of new at-retirement options and variance in terms of what is offered by schemes and providers, trustees are no longer merely guardians of savers’ funds, but also “of members’ decisions and how they make those decisions”.
peter.walker@ft.com
