Welcome to the latest edition of Pensions Round-Up which provides an overview of developments in pension legislation, case law and regulatory guidance.
In this edition we look at key developments from December 2015 including the following.
- DC Flexibilities: the Government's response to the March 2015 consultation on creating conditions for a secondary market for annuities to develop; and the Government's response to the Work and Pensions Committee's report about the guidance and advice on offer to people navigating the DC flexibilities.
- The Pensions Regulator: the publication of regulatory guidance on integrated risk management; and the Purple Book 2015.
- Pension Protection Fund: the publication of the final Levy Determination for 2016/17.
- Legislation: the consultation on draft clauses for the Finance Bill 2016 including in relation to the lifetime allowance, bridging pensions, Dependants' scheme pensions, and inheritance tax and drawdown; and further regulations relating to the end of contracting-out.
- Case law: a High Court judgment about the construction of a pension increase rule.
- Public Service Pension Schemes: the results of a survey by the Pensions Regulator assessing how public service schemes are meeting legal requirements on governance and administration; and a consultation about various changes to the regulations governing the NHS Pension Schemes.
- Other news: HMRC's latest pension schemes newsletter and Countdown Bulletin; the publication of a revised version of the Pensions Tax Manual; and an announcement about the automatic enrolment earnings thresholds for 2016/17.
- On the Horizon: a timeline of some of the key future developments in pensions to help employers and trustees plan ahead.