200 not out!

I have been writing my Linked In articles here for a little over seven years now, and this is article 200!

For this article, then, I thought I would look back across those seven years and consider how things have changed in the world of pensions over that time.

By January 2018, when I started writing these articles, the A-Day regime had been in place for quite a number of years, however it was still raising various issues for Aries members, as evidenced by the flow of queries to our Helpline.

Although the Lifetime Allowance has now been abolished, many of the ‘old’ A-Day rules still remain in place. The Annual Allowance still exists, together with its counterparts – the Money Purchase Annual Allowance and the Tapered Annual Allowance and the requirement to issue annual Pension Savings Statements.

The requirement for registered pension schemes to submit Accounting for Tax Returns still applies, as do the penalties that can apply where such a Return is incorrect or the tax due is not paid on time.

All of these areas are still frequent subjects of queries from Aries members, as are some other recurring themes – in particular, Pension Sharing, which has been the subject of quite a few of my articles over the years.

Another common source of queries is HMRC’s Genuine Errors provisions. Much of the difficulty here arises because these provisions do not actually exist in legislation: HMRC simply introduced them into the PTM for reasons of efficiency. Whilst I understand why they cannot really be legislated for, this does mean that it can be difficult to say exactly when, and how far, these provisions can be applied.

Of course, across the last year or so, much of my focus has been on the new Lump Sum Allowance / Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance regime.

Fortunately, many of the issues that I identified during the development of this new regime have since been resolved, however it appears that some still remain.

As this new regime continues to bed down, I am sure that our members will continue to identify further quirks and anomalies in the new system that will keep me on my toes for many years to come. Right now, a particularly common issue the operation of scheme-specific protected cash under the latest incarnation of the new rules on this area. Exactly how do you calculate the protected cash amount for a member of a defined benefit scheme that provides ‘cash in addition’, where the member also has a disqualifying pension credit and has had a partial transfer out? I will happily admit that that this one had me scratching my head for quite a while before finding a solution.

Of course, I am equally sure that our members will come up with queries that I have never even considered before. One I particularly remember concerned What Happens When A Member Goes Missing? Certainly not a query that comes up often, but clearly an important issue if it ever does occur.

Looking forward, there will be new developments that will come along – indeed, we identified some possible areas in our latest Aries Insight: a monthly dive into current issues or thorny aspects of the world of pensions.

I will continue to publish regular articles here, to reflect the issues that Aries members are facing and legislative developments as they occur. In the meantime, I would just like to thank you all for reading my articles and I hope they have been of interest to you.

(Please note that my earlier articles linked to above reflect the legislation as it stood when the articles were written and that, in some cases, the legislation has since changed.)

Aries Insight?provides comprehensive and detailed insight into the meaning and impact of UK pensions legislation and clear guidance on the practical implications for pension providers, trustees, administrators and consultants.? If you are not already an Aries member and would like to find out more about what Aries Insight can offer you, then please drop me a mail at [email protected] or give me a call on 01536 763352.

Please note that?we are not lawyers or financial advisers.?The information above sets out our best understanding of the legislation and how it applies, but should not be taken as constituting legal or financial advice.