Good news on Virgin Media!
The industry will breathe a collective sigh of relief to hear that DB schemes with a section 37 problem will be allowed to fix it retrospectively. When it was obvious that the contracting-out test would be met, people didn’t always focus on getting the actuarial confirmation or keeping it safe. The DWP has just announced that schemes will be able to get this confirmation retrospectively. We assume it will be done by using the existing power to make regulations about contracting-out glitches; it’s been done before. There will still have to be a process and we await the details. It may not be easy to establish on the facts whether the test was met at the time, which could be the best part of 30 years ago. But at least the door is now open to a sensible solution that means DB schemes can get on with doing what they are supposed to do namely providing the promised benefits to members.
The announcement can be found here.
We will keep you posted as things develop.
Anna Rogers commented on this news in Professional Pensions, Pensions Expert and Actuarial Post.
The views in this article are intended for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. Arc Pensions Law and the author(s) are not responsible for any direct or indirect result arising from any reliance placed on content, including any loss, and exclude liability to the full extent. Always seek appropriate legal advice from a suitably qualified lawyer before taking, or avoiding taking, any action. If you have any questions on the points raised in the above, please do not hesitate to get in touch.