Summary

The Pensions Regulator (tPR) has issued an interim response to the consultation on its proposed new single code of practice, while it continues to carry out a full review of the comments received.  The new single code is intended to incorporate the content of 10 existing code into a series of interlinked modules.  tPR reveals that it received around 10,000 individual answers to questions, from 103 respondents. 

Particular points to note are as follows.

• tPR does not have a firm publication date for the new code but does not expect to lay the code before Parliament before spring 2022.  It follows that the code is unlikely to become effective before summer 2022.  The longer timescale may mean that content derived from the Pension Schemes Act 2021 can be included in the first version of the new code. 
• The expectation in the draft code that no more than 20% of scheme investments should be held in assets not traded on regulated markets (unless there are exceptional circumstances) received “strongly argued comments”.  In response, tPR will not proceed with this expectation as drafted.  It explains that the intention was (and remains) to protect members of poorly run, typically small, schemes but not to prevent well-governed, typically larger, schemes from holding unregulated assets as part of a well-run investment strategy. 
• The new requirement for an own-risk assessment (ORA) raised concerns about the amount of work involved and the expected timescales for completion.  However, tPR remains of the view that schemes should complete their first ORA in a timely manner – meaning that the legislative timescales should be taken as a maximum, with completion in a shorter timescale representing best practice.

Date Accessed: 28/05/2022