Client feedback

“PSGS offered the right support at very short notice, at reasonable cost, when we really needed it.”

Ian Edwards,

Chair of Trustee, Comet Pension Scheme

“I learnt more than I expected to at the trustee training course. A good introduction to the trustee role.”

Rob Hartley,

RSPCA

“Gillian has gone above and beyond what we would normally expect of our secretarial support on many occasions and her deep knowledge on all issues have been invaluable.”

Sean Hoyle ,

Wightlink

“We have a good partnership the team really understand what we need and our knowledge eg budgets - "we don't have a referee" - very helpful. Challenge advisers but with a practical objective. Thanks to PSGS, GMP equalisation has been just a process. ”

Stephen Allaker ,

Bristol Myers-Squibb

“I would recommend them to anyone - I have dealt with a number of other independent trustee firms and would rate PSGS as the best. We are very happy with Mark and the service we get.”

Julia Morton,

Camellia plc

“Many organisations and people provide the services that clients need. In my opinion, the differentiator is in the way those services are provided and to that extent, Kathy embodies the qualities that I have come to value from PSITL. Kathy is organised but not fussy; diligent but not dogmatic; persistent without being pushy and compliant in a pragmatic way. Whilst she takes ownership and drives issues forward, Kathy is a team player who uses her and her colleagues experience to provide services to her trustee client whilst working closely with those like me representing the sponsoring employer. She works collaboratively with advisers but constructively challenges the scope of services, fees and service standards whenever necessary and makes sure that member needs are always taken into account. I enjoy working with her and trust that she will deliver what is required by the trustee and the members they represent in a manner satisfactory to the sponsoring employer. ”

Stuart Barker,

Internal Pensions Consultant, RSPCA

Have schemes missed the new requirements for reporting late contributions?

Topic:

Hot topic

Date published:

Monday, 20 January 2014

A revised code of practice from the Pensions Regulator’s (tPR) came into force on 1 September 2013 that advisers and administrators seem to have said little about - and which, therefore, may not have been flagged up to affected schemes.

This code of practice 05 applies to defined contribution (DC) schemes or those with a DC section. It sets out tPR’s expectations of trustees in relation to ensuring that correct member contributions are paid.

Whereas the old code mainly dealt with checking contributions were paid on time and reporting late payments, the new code extends trustees’ duties to include:

applying a risk based approach to check the right amount of contributions are paid - this doesn’t mean trustees are expected to double check every weekly or monthly payroll run by the employer, but they do need to have a process in place that identifies when contribution errors are more likely to occur and which enables them to collect further information if needed
providing members with sufficient information so they can check for themselves that they are receiving the right contributions - this could, for example, be through online access to contribution and payments information.

This has practical impacts on pension scheme trustees. They (or in practice their administrators) must set up a process that is appropriate for their scheme to monitor that contributions are paid over on time and the amounts are correct. This requirement is already in force but, for some trustees, it may take time to establish a suitable process.

Trustees also need to review the information currently provided to members and decide whether it is sufficient for individuals to check they are receiving the correct contributions. This could represent a much bigger piece of work for some schemes and assistance may be required to ensure compliance.

Gillian Graham - scheme manager

Back to opinions

Hot topics

‘ PSGS & 20-20 Trustees merge to form Vidett ’

Punter Southall Governance Services (PSGS) & 20-20 Trustees (20-20) have today announced they...

‘ Don’t be surprised that your gilt funds are being treated like an emerging market ’

Image of Hot Topic author Sophia Harrison, Client Director

You may have seen or heard about the article in the Financial Times about how Insight...

More opinions »