Pensions Master Trust Authorisation Deadline Looms

Since 2012, employers in the U.K. have been required to automatically enrol their employees into a so-called auto-enrolment pension. Many employers — particularly those with a small workforce in the U.K. — have provided these pensions through a commercial pension product known as the “master trust.” A master trust is an occupational scheme, provided under trust and administered by a commercial provider, in which different (unconnected) employers participate. These providers were initially attractive to employers because they provided a relatively simple pensions product with limited administration by the employer and at low cost.

There are a large number of these products in the market, with significant disparity in infrastructure and their management’s experience and skill sets. Some have not done as well as expected and are highly likely to be wound up in the near future. (A few have done so already.)