The Financial Assistance Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2007

Amendment of Part 3 (qualifying pension schemes)

4.—(1) In regulation 9(1) (qualifying pension schemes)—

(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (c), omit “and”, and

(b) after sub-paragraph (c), insert—

“(ca) there was, in the opinion of the scheme manager, a relevant link between the commencement of the winding up of the scheme and the fact that the relevant condition mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) is satisfied; and”.

(2) After regulation 9(1), insert—

“(1A) The relevant link mentioned in paragraph (1)(ca) is deemed to be established in relation to any employer in respect of which the relevant condition mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) is satisfied before 1st January 2009.”.

(3) In regulation 10 (other schemes which are not qualifying pension schemes), for paragraph (l) substitute—

“(l) a scheme with fewer than 12 members where all the members are trustees of the scheme and either—

(i) the provisions of the scheme provide that any decision made by the trustees is made by the unanimous agreement of the trustees who are members of the scheme; or

(ii) the scheme has a trustee who is independent in relation to the scheme for the purposes of section 23 of the 1995 Act (power to appoint independent trustees) and is registered in the register maintained by the Pensions Regulator(1) in accordance with regulations made under subsection (4) of that section;

(m) a scheme with fewer than 12 members where all the members are directors of a company which is the sole trustee of the scheme and either—

(i) the provisions of the scheme provide that any decision made by the company in its capacity as trustee is made by the unanimous agreement of the directors of that company who are members of the scheme; or

(ii) one of the directors of the company is independent in relation to the scheme for the purposes of section 23 of the 1995 Act and is registered in the register maintained by the Pensions Regulator in accordance with regulations made under subsection (4) of that section.”.

(4) In regulations 11(1) (condition to be satisfied by employer), 12(1) and (2) (condition to be satisfied: multi-employer schemes), and 13(4) and (4A) (insolvency events), omit “on or before 28th February 2007” in each place that it occurs.

(5) In regulation 13—

(a) in paragraph (2), omit sub-paragraph (b);

(b) in paragraph (3A), omit “on 28th February 2007 or on some earlier date”; and

(c) after paragraph (4A), insert—

“(4B) The scheme manager may also, for the purposes of regulations 11 and 12, treat an insolvency event as having occurred in relation to the employer in relation to an occupational pension scheme where—

(a) the trustees of such a scheme entered into a binding agreement, with the employer against whom it arose, to compromise the debt that arose under section 75 of the 1995 Act, and

(b) the scheme manager is satisfied that had that agreement not been entered into—

(i) the value of that employer’s assets would have been less than the amount of its liabilities, taking into account its contingent and prospective liabilities, or

(ii) the employer would have been unable to pay its debts as they fell due.”.

(1)

Section 7(2) of the Pensions Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) provides that “the Authority” in Part 1 of the Pensions Act 1995 (c.26) (which includes section 23) means the Pensions Regulator. The Pensions Regulator was established by section 1 of the 2004 Act.