Regulation 10 Financial sustainability, scheme proprietor and promotion or marketing requirements: unconnected multiple employer schemes

After section 14 insert—

“Unconnected multiple employer schemes: financial sustainability requirement - business plan

14A

(1)

The scheme proprietor of an unconnected multiple employer scheme must prepare a business plan for the scheme.

(2)

A business plan must—

(a)

include the information specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1B, and any other information set out in a Code for the purposes of this paragraph, unless Part 2 of that Schedule provides otherwise, and

(b)

comply with the requirements specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1B, and any other requirements set out in a Code in relation to the information to be included in a business plan.

(3)

The scheme proprietor must, at least once a year—

(a)

review the most recent business plan, and

(b)

if appropriate, revise it within three months of the scheme proprietor concluding that it is appropriate to revise the plan.

(4)

The scheme proprietor must revise the most recent business plan at any time if—

(a)

there is any significant change to the information included in it, or

(b)

a triggering event (see section 31) has reduced the value of the financial resources of the scheme.

(5)

The business plan, and any revised business plan, must be approved by the trustees of the scheme.

(6)

The scheme proprietor or the trustees must provide the Pensions Regulator with the most recent business plan, and any supporting information or documents required by the Regulator—

(a)

on application for authorisation (see section 8),

(b)

where a revision is required as a result of a review under subsection (3), on completion of the revision,

(c)

where a revision is required under subsection (4), within three months of the plan being revised, and

(d)

at any other time, on request from the Pensions Regulator.

Unconnected multiple employer schemes: scheme proprietor

14B

(1)

An unconnected multiple employer scheme has a single scheme proprietor (see section 9(3)(ca)(i)) if there is a person, but no more than one person, who meets all the criteria in subsection (2) in relation to the scheme.

(2)

The criteria are—

(a)

if the Pensions Regulator is considering an application for authorisation in relation to the scheme, that the person is liable to provide funds to or in respect of the scheme for the purposes of meeting—

(i)

some or all of the costs of setting up the scheme, and

(ii)

some or all of the costs relating to obtaining authorisation of the scheme,

(b)

that the person is liable to provide funds to or in respect of the scheme in circumstances where administration charges received from or in respect of members are not sufficient to cover the balance (if any) of the costs of setting up, and obtaining authorisation of, the scheme, and the costs of running it,

(c)

that the person is liable, in the event of a triggering event occurring in relation to the scheme, to provide funds to or in respect of the scheme for the purposes of meeting—

(i)

the costs of complying with the duties under sections 31 to 45 (see section 14(2)(b)(i)), and

(ii)

the costs of continuing to run the scheme for such period (which must be at least six months and no more than two years) as the Pensions Regulator thinks appropriate for the scheme (see section 14(2)(b)(ii)), and

(d)

that the person is responsible for making business decisions relating to the commercial activities of the scheme.

(3)

In this Part, “the scheme proprietor”, in relation to a scheme, means the person who meets all the criteria in subsection (2).

Unconnected multiple employer schemes: scheme proprietor requirements

14C

(1)

This section makes provision about the requirements that the scheme proprietor of an unconnected multiple employer scheme must meet in order for the scheme to meet the authorisation criterion mentioned in section 9(3)(ca)(ii).

(2)

The first requirement is that the scheme proprietor is a body corporate or a partnership that is a legal person under the law by which it is governed.

(3)

The second requirement is that the scheme proprietor is not a trustee of the scheme.

(4)

The third requirement is that the scheme proprietor had accounts prepared and audited as individual accounts in accordance with the applicable requirements at the time when it entered into the relationship or arrangement with the scheme by virtue of which it is the scheme proprietor.

(5)

The scheme proprietor is excepted from the third requirement if—

(a)

the scheme proprietor has deposited a proportion, set out in a Code, of the assets required to meet the costs mentioned in section 14(2) in a separate account in the name of the trustees with a deposit taker as defined in section 49(8A) of the Pensions Act 1995^f1 (other responsibilities of trustees, etc.), or

(b)

the Pensions Regulator grants an exception from the requirement.

(6)

A scheme proprietor ceases to be excepted from the third requirement—

(a)

by virtue of subsection (5)(a), if any of the proportion of the assets referred to in that subsection is withdrawn from the account referred to in that subsection before the date on which the scheme proprietor provides accounts to the Pensions Regulator under this Part, or

(b)

by virtue of subsection (5)(b), if the Pensions Regulator withdraws an exception granted under that subsection.

(7)

The Pensions Regulator may only withdraw an exception under subsection (6)(b) if—

(a)

the Regulator has notified the scheme proprietor of its intention to withdraw the exception before the beginning of the period of two weeks ending with the day on which the exception is to be withdrawn (the “withdrawal day”), and

(b)

the scheme proprietor has not, by the withdrawal day, provided accounts to the Regulator under this Part.

(8)

In this section “body corporate” has the meaning given in section 1173(1) of the Companies Act 2006.

(9)

Subsections (3A) to (3C) of section 8 (where accounts are prepared and audited as individual accounts in accordance with the applicable requirements) apply for the purposes of this section.

Unconnected multiple employer schemes: promotion or marketing requirement

14D

(1)

Part 1 of Schedule 1C sets out the matters that the Pensions Regulator must take into account in deciding whether it is satisfied that no person has carried out promotion or marketing of an unconnected multiple employer scheme that is unclear or misleading without rectification (see section 9(3)(cb)(i)).

(2)

Part 2 of Schedule 1C sets out the matters that the Pensions Regulator must take into account in deciding whether it is satisfied that the scheme has adequate systems and processes for securing that promotion or marketing of the scheme is clear and not misleading (see section 9(3)(cb)(ii)).

(3)

In deciding whether it is satisfied that an unconnected multiple employer scheme has adequate systems and processes for securing that promotion or marketing of the scheme is clear and not misleading, the Pensions Regulator may take into account whether any promotion or marketing of the scheme has been unclear or misleading (whether or not it has been rectified).”.