With the count down to Christmas now beginning in earnest, why not join us each day in December as we open our advent calendar of topical pensions facts. A great way to celebrate the festive season!

Each day this month we will be posting a topical pensions fact for your enjoyment. If you'd like to discuss any of our posts, or if you have your own pensions "fun fact" to share with us, please get in touch with your usual contact at Brodies.

  1. The number of places you will need to look to see details of all your pension savings after the launch of the government's pension dashboard, expected in 2019.
  2. The number of DB pension consolidators currently in the market - The Pension SuperFund and Clara-Pensions. Both operate in the existing legal framework and aim to undercut insurance pricing by up to 10-15%, depending on the profile of the pension plan.
  3. The number of years after which workers who opt out of automatic enrolment must be re-enrolled.
  4. The number of new employer-related notifiable events proposed in the government's White Paper "Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes - A Stronger Pensions Regulator" published on 26 June 2018 (Read our summary of the White Paper here).
  5. The current minimum contribution rate for auto enrolment is 5% (made up of a minimum contribution of 3% from the employee and 2% from the employer).
  6. The number of weeks pension scheme trustees have to complete and submit their annual Scheme Return after it has been issued to them by The Pensions Regulator.
  7. The number of sub-committees of the board of the Pension Protection Fund.
  8. The minimum contribution rate for auto enrolment is set to rise to 8% from April 2019 (made up of a minimum contribution of 5% from the employee and 3% from the employer).
  9. The section of the Pensions Act 2004 which established the Determinations Panel of The Pensions Regulator. The Panel makes independent and impartial decisions in relation to investigations by The Pensions Regulator (you can find Determination Notices here).
  10. The number of qualifying years you will need on your National Insurance record to get any State Pension. They do not have to be 10 qualifying years in a row.
  11. The total number of learning modules in The Pensions Regulator's Trustee Toolkit (Five core, four additional for DB Schemes and two additional for DC schemes).
  12. The number of years for which the Insolvency Service has disqualified an individual from being a company director after his involvement in a pensions scam where 245 people were persuaded through cold-calling and other techniquesto transfer their pension savings into scam schemes. The Pensions Regulator has also disqualified him from acting as a pension trustee.
  13. The number of conclusions set out by Mr Justice Morgan in his 26 October 2018 judgement in Lloyds Banking Group Pension Trustees Limited v Lloyds Bank PLC and others (Read our update on the case here).
  14. The Pensions Bill first presented to Parliament on 9 May 2013 received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014, meaning that it then became the Pensions Act 2014.
  15. The number of codes of practice issued by The Pensions Regulator.
  16. The number of members of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's new Policy Board with a remit covering all PLSA policy matters.
  17. The percentage of medium sized employers (50-249 members of staff) which experienced one or more members asking to leave their pension scheme following the April 2018 increase on contribution rates for automatic enrolment (Read more here).
  18. The age at which you are generally eligible to become a pension scheme trustee (unless you are disqualified or prohibited from, or ineligible to be, a trustee under the Pensions Act 1995 or Pensions Act 2004).
  19. The number of pages in the feedback statement published by the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator in October 2018 reporting on the main issues arising from their consultation in relation to their new joint strategy. Read the strategy and the feedback paper here.
  20. The number of Cyber security principles for pension schemes set out by The Pensions Regulator in its guidance for trustees, issued ahead of the implementation of GDPR earlier this year. Read the full guidance here.
  21. The consultation by the Scottish government on civil partnership closes today 21 December 2018 (read our view on potential implications for pensions here).
  22. The lower age threshold for becoming an eligible jobholder for the purposes of automatic enrolment.
  23. The number of regulatory guidance notes issued by The Pensions Regulator.
  24. The total number of entries in our pensions countdown to Christmas! A very Merry Christmas to all from the Brodies pensions team!

Contributor

Jennifer Crawford

Senior Associate