“Where we find schemes fall short of the standards we have set out, we will expect them to improve. Some smaller schemes may find this challenging and decide that the interests of their members would be better served in another type of arrangement.” Key elements of the package of measures published for consultation today include: A set of 31 DC quality features covering key areas such as contributions, investments, governance standards, administration, value for money, converting a pension pot into a retirement income and member communications. A ‘comply or explain’ regime – occupational DC trust-based pension schemes will be expected to adopt a disclosure framework to demonstrate how they comply with the DC quality features, or to be able to explain any inconsistencies. Disclosure will help to give employers confidence that schemes they choose for their workers meet certain standards and will require trustees to consider what processes are in place that ensure the presence of the each feature. Schemes might choose to disclose this information via their annual report, for example. 'Master trusts’ will be expected to obtain independent assurance which can help demonstrate that they comply with the DC quality features. Master trusts have potential to offer benefits such as low charges and good governance. However, because of the significant numbers of workers expected to be automatically enrolled into this segment, the regulator believes that an additional level of assurance is necessary to address risks such as low barriers of entry to the market and the potential for conflicts of interest if the trustees have a close association with the provider. A code of practice for occupational DC trust-based pension schemes that provides practical guidance on the requirements of pensions legislation and sets out standards of conduct and practice expected of those responsible for running schemes. Standards set out in the code will be a key reference as to whether enforcement action is necessary. The DC code should be read in conjunction with regulatory guidance setting out good practice standards in areas such as value for money, transparency of costs and charges and member communications. Where trustees fall short of the standards expected the regulator can take action to put things right. This includes issuing notices directing compliance with the law, fines and removing trustees and replacing them with new ones. The standards have been issued for consultation with the pensions industry and representatives of members, employees and employers. The deadline for consultation responses is 28 March. The consultation is available to download the Pensions Regulator website.
AUTOMATIC ENROLMENT STANDARDS FOR SOFTWARE PROVIDERS FROM ORIGO
10 January 2013
Origo Services Ltd, the Edinburgh based Standards body for the Life and Pensions Industry, is working with Product Providers, HR Payroll Providers, Automatic Enrolment Solution Providers and other interested stakeholders including the CIPP to develop a suite of Automatic Enrolment Data Messaging Standards in both XML and CSV data formats. The Standards stipulate the data and format when sending automatic enrolment data between Employers, HR Payroll Providers and Product Providers etc. for those who wish to transact via electronic data transfer.
The first set of Standards was published in December 2012 and work continues to provide additional Automatic Enrolment Standards throughout 2013.
The first two published Automatic Enrolment Standards are:
CIPP Policy News Journal
12/04/2013, Page 275 of 362
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