PPF: Trustee guidance for schemes entering PPF assessment unveiled
Friday, 02 May 2008 15:48
Guidance to help pension scheme trustees understand their roles and responsibilities as they are being assessed for entry into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has been unveiled for consultation today (Friday).
The revised PPF ‘Trustee Good Practice Guide’ explains how the assessment period works as well as sets out the principles the PPF expects trustees and their advisors to adhere to throughout the process.
PPF Director of Delivery, Peter Walker, said: “Many of the procedures trustees and advisors have to follow are set out in law. We have designed this guidance to improve trustees’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities and help them move through the assessment period as effectively and efficiently as possible.
“We very much want to support trustees and their advisors through what is a complex and demanding time. However, we want to make it very clear what we expect from them at all times during the process. We believe this guidance can help us achieve our target for seeing schemes through assessment within two years – and bring certainty to scheme members by enabling trustees to complete the assessment period in a timely way.”
The assessment period is similar to a pension scheme ‘wind up’ and determines whether a scheme is eligible for entry into the PPF. The assessment period starts as soon as an eligible scheme’s sponsoring employer goes bust.
While assessment takes place, trustees remain in day-to-day control of the pension scheme and payments. The PPF takes over responsibility for payments only when assessment is complete – and if the scheme cannot afford to pay out more than PPF levels of compensation.
The guidance is out for consultation for 12 weeks and, during that time, the PPF is holding a series of roadshows for trustees across the country.
ends
Notes to editor:
1.Copies of ‘Trustee Good Practice Guide’ are available on the PPF website at
http://www.pensionprotectionfund.org.uk/index/trustee_guidance.htm
2.Details of the roadshows can be found by clicking on the following link:
http://www.pensionprotectionfund.org.uk/news-details.htm?id=6511
3.The Pension Protection Fund was set up under the provisions of the Pensions Act 2004 in April 2005 and is classified as a public financial corporation. It has been established to pay compensation to members of eligible defined benefit and hybrid pension schemes when there has been a qualifying insolvency event in relation to the employer, and where there are insufficient assets in the pension scheme to cover Pension Protection Fund levels of compensation.
For further press information contact: Richard Hunt on 0208 633 5931/0789 425 5561 or Ana Moreno on 020 8633 4932/ 07961 957 480
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