Pensions White Paper: More Changes On The Horizon For Defined Benefit Schemes

The Government has published its White Paper, Protecting Defined Benefit Pensions. The Government intends to give more powers to the Pensions Regulator – as a response to the high profile BHS case – and strengthen the Regulator's position on Scheme funding. The Government will also be consulting further on measures to allow defined benefit schemes to consolidate. However, none of these changes will be quick: a Bill is unlikely to be introduced before the 2019-2020 Parliamentary Session.

The Government has concluded that there is no systemic problem in the regulatory and legislative framework that governs defined benefit pension schemes. However there are examples of sponsoring employers misusing the flexibility in scheme funding, so the Government is proposing changes which support the Pensions Regulator's ambition to be clearer, quicker and tougher.