Pensions Act 2004

Pensions Act 2004
Pensions Act 2004

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title ...
Statute book chapter 2004 c 35
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal Assent 2004
Status:
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Pensions Act 2004 (c 35) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to improve the running of pension schemes.

Contents

Background

In the years following the introduction of the Pensions Act 1995, it was widely perceived that it was failing to offer the protection to pension scheme members that had been anticipated. The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority was perceived as being reactive, didactic and uncommercial. The minimum funding requirement had not prevented some pension schemes winding up with insufficient assets to secure their liabilities, amid considerable publicity. There was strong political pressure to establish a guarantee fund similar to the American Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Much of the regulation was perceived to be unnecessarily restrictive. Te Pensions Act 2004 was written to try to fix that.

Overview

The main features of the Act include:

  • The abolition of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and its replacement by the Pensions Regulator, with wider powers to intervene of its own volition;
  • New powers for the Pensions Regulator to intervene where employers, directors and majority shareholders were perceived to be avoiding their responsibilities to pension schemes and where employers were insufficiently resourced to support the pension scheme;
  • New notification requirements;
  • The establishment of the Pension Protection Fund to provide benefits for pension scheme members where a pension scheme had gone into winding-up with insufficient resources to fund scheme benefits and no employer to make good the underfunding;
  • The abolition of the minimum funding requirement and its replacement with scheme-specific funding requirements;
  • Modification of the protections for existing pension scheme benefits and of the requirements for pension schemes to have member nominated trustees.

Contents

  • Part 1, The Pensions Regulator, ss 1-106
  • Part 2, The Board of the Pension Protection Fund, ss 107-220
  • Part 3, Scheme Funding ss 221-233
  • Part 4, Financial Planning for Retirement, ss 234-238
  • Part 5, Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes: Miscellaneous Provisions, ss 239-285
  • Part 6, Financial Assistance Scheme for Members of Certain Pension Schemes, s 286
  • Part 7, Cross-border Activities within European Union, ss 287-295
  • Part 8, State Pensions, s 296-299
  • Part 9, Miscellaneous and Supplementary, ss 300-325
Schedules
  • Schedule 1, The Pensions Regulator
  • Schedule 2, The reserved regulatory functions
  • Schedule 3, Restricted information held by the Regulator: certain permitted disclosures to facilitate exercise of functions
  • Schedule 4, The Pensions Regulator Tribunal
  • Schedule 5, The Board of the Pension Protection Fund
  • Schedule 6, Transfer of property, rights and liabilities to the Board
  • Schedule 7, Pension compensation provisions
  • Schedule 8, Restricted information held by the Board: certain permitted disclosures to facilitate exercise of functions
  • Schedule 9, Reviewable matters
  • Schedule 10, Use and supply of information: private pensions policy and retirement planning
  • Schedule 11, Deferral of retirement pensions and shared additional pensions
  • Schedule 12, Minor and consequential amendments
  • Schedule 13, Repeals and revocations

See also

Notes

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pensions Act 1995 — Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title ... Statute book chapter 1995 c 26 …   Wikipedia

  • Pensions Act 2008 — The Pensions Act 2008[1] Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title An Act to make provision relating to pensions; and for connected purposes …   Wikipedia

  • Old-Age Pensions Act 1908 — Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title ... Statute book chapter 1908 c …   Wikipedia

  • Finance Act 2004 — The Finance Act 2004 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament prescribing changes to Excise Duties; Value Added Tax; Income Tax; Corporation Tax; and Capital Gains Tax. It enacts the 2004 Budget speech made by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon …   Wikipedia

  • Pensions in the United Kingdom — fall into seven major divisions; Basic State Pension, State Second Pension (S2P), Occupational Pensions, Stakeholder Pensions, Group Personal Pensions and Personal or Individual Pensions. Personal accounts, automatic enrollment and the minimum… …   Wikipedia

  • Pensions Regulator Tribunal — The tribunal set up under the Pensions Act 2004 to hear references from decisions made by the Pensions Regulator in the exercise of the regulatory functions detailed in section 93 of the Pensions Act 2004. The parties to a tribunal reference can… …   Law dictionary

  • Pensions Regulator — Established by the Pensions Act 2004, the Regulator became operational on 6 April 2005 and has responsibility for all work based pension schemes in the UK. The Regulator replaced OPRA and consequently has wide ranging powers. The Regulator may… …   Law dictionary

  • Pensions (IORP) Directive — England, Scotland, Wales directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union dated 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision. It is a first step to… …   Law dictionary

  • Pensions Directive — England, Scotland, Wales directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union dated 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision. It is a first step to… …   Law dictionary

  • Timeline of pensions in the United Kingdom — 1908= * Old Age Pensions Act passed providing means tested benefits to people over 70 [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/16/npens16.xml News Telegraph ] ] 1978* 6 April State Earnings Related Pension Scheme starts * 6 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”