The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
News On Line
Call centre director banned for pension negligence 16 August 2021
Philip James Hopkinson, from Nottingham, who was director of call centre, Target Source Media, ran an unregistered pension scheme, which risked over £200,000 of people’s pension funds.
The Target Source Media Pension Scheme was set up in June 2016, and before a year had passed, the administration of the occupational pension scheme had already been transferred to a third party. Over the course of the next five months, members placed more than £200,000 into the scheme, which remained unregistered - a breach of the Pensions Act 2004.
Hopkinson confessed that he had never met or spoke with those that he appointed and at no point did he check their ability or knowledge of administering pension schemes.
He resigned as a director of Target Source Media in June 2017, however, continued to be an employee for a further few months, helping authorise the transfer of members’ funds out of the pension scheme bank account. When Target Source Media Limited was wound up in 2018, it also had additional debts exceeding £65,000.
The Insolvency Service investigated, which resulted in Hopkinson signing an eight-year disqualification undertaking, which commenced on 25 June 2021.
The Financial Times Adviser reported that the chief investigator of the Insolvency Service, Neil North, had said:
“Hopkinson breached the duties placed on him as a director of a limited company and as a result, members of the public have been unnecessarily put at risk and have potentially lost funds from their occupational pensions.
In such cases, the Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action to remove the privilege of limited liability status from such individuals.”
Back to contents
Business owner to be prosecuted for illegal money investment 24 August 2021
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed that it is to prosecute the former owner of Norton Motorcycles, Stuart James Garner, for illegally investing money into the business from three pension schemes that he was the sole trustee for. He is accused of breaching Employer Related Investment (ERI) rules as he invested over 5% of assets from each scheme into his business, Norton Motorcycle Holdings Ltd. The investments were made over 2012 and 2013 and were made in return for preference shares. It is a criminal offence to invest over 5% of current market value of scheme resources in ERIs. The decision to prosecute comes two years after TPR first got involved, in a case that was dates back to 2012. Mr. Garner is due to appear at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 15 November 2021 and is charged with three separate ERI offences.
Back to contents
Recognised overseas pension schemes notification list 18 August 2021
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
Page 176 of 220
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker