NEWS |
July 19, 2022
Partner Vikki Massarano comments in Pensions Expert on a tribunal ruling relating to age discrimination during the Pension Protection Fund’s assessment period.
Claimants at an employment tribunal hearing in January 2022 argued that their scheme had discriminated against them due to their age by reducing or capping their pension payments during the Pension Protection Fund’s assessment period.
The tribunal decided that Article 3 of the Equality Act was incompatible with a European directive on discrimination, and disallowed its application in this circumstance.
This case comes after a 2018 ruling in the European Court of Justice that determined PPF members should not receive less than 50 per cent of their entitled benefits should their employer file for insolvency.
The Department for Work and Pensions is appealing the decision.
Vikki Massarano commented:
“If this decision is upheld, it will mean schemes need to review pre-2006 benefits which they may not have considered previously when undertaking age discrimination reviews”.
“The PPF would need to further review its compensation structure, which could in turn lead to a need for higher levies from DB schemes.”
“If the PPF has to provide higher compensation for some members, that will also have a knock-on effect on schemes’ PPF funding levels.”
Read Vikki’s comments in Pensions Expert.
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