Defined Benefit Pensions White Paper examined
6 June 2018
Work and Pensions Committee continues its inquiry on the Defined Benefit Pensions White Paper, for this session the Committee takes evidence from a range of stakeholders and experts in the field including first evidence from the new Chief Executive of the PPF, Oliver Morley.
- Watch Parliament TV: Defined Benefit Pensions White Paper
- Inquiry: Defined Benefit Pensions White Paper
- Work and Pensions Committee
Witnesses
Wednesday 6 June 2018, Wilson Room, Portcullis House
At 9.30am
- Yvonne Braun, Director of Policy, Long Term Savings and Protection, Association of British Insurers
- Baroness Jeannie Drake, pension scheme trustee and Governor, Pensions Policy Institute
- Helen Miles, Squire Patton Boggs, LLP
- Bob Scott, outgoing Chair, Association of Consulting Actuaries and senior partner at Lane Clark & Peacock
At 10.15am
- Oliver Morley, Chief Executive, Pension Protection Fund
- Sara Protheroe, Chief Customer Officer, Pension Protection Fund
Purpose of the session
The session will focus on the future of the PPF, and measures to keep DB schemes out of it. Questions to be covered will include what standards should TPR set for pension scheme funding, and what are appropriate recovery plan lengths to return pension schemes in deficit to being fully funded.
The Committee has previously said that recovery plans of over 10 years, which have persistently accounted for around a quarter of all recovery plans submitted to the regulator, should be exceptional - and branded both BHS' 23 year recovery plan proposal and TPR's acceptance of it totally unacceptable.
The Committee has repeatedly called for reform of pensions regulation, including in its major reports on the sale of BHS and collapse of Carillion, and the White Paper adopted the Committee's recommendation of adding punitive fines to TPR's anti-avoidance powers. It also proposes a new criminal offence of "committing wilful or grossly reckless behaviour in relation to a pension scheme".
It also announced further consultations on: strengthening TPR's clearance regime; clarifying scheme funding standards; and facilitating scheme consolidation. This inquiry aims to inform and influence these consultations.
Further information
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