He added: “This is slightly different, because it’s a regulatory proposal rather than a requirement, but the same principle of Ssas exemption applies.
“The proposals aren’t appropriate for Ssas, so exempting them makes sense.”
Martin Tilley, pensions director at Hurley Partners, said there appeared to be a misunderstanding on Mr Opperman’s behalf, so the clarification was to be welcomed.
He added: “Ssas are the occupational scheme equivalent of a self-invested personal pension. That is they are very individually invested in accordance with the member's specific wishes - often in employer-related direct commercial property, occasional loans to the founder employer and specifically mandated discretionary schemes.
“They are individual trusts and as a result cannot be ‘consolidated’ without specific earmarking of assets between individuals, which is a concept that would make any economy of scale redundant by complexity.”
amy.austin@ft.com
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