Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000

Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000

2000 CHAPTER 19

Part II: Pensions.

Commentary on Sections

Chapter II: Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes

Selection of trustees and of directors of corporate trustees

Section 45: Employer's proposals for selection of trustees or directors

474. This section introduces a new section 18A. The new section makes provison for the employer to propose arrangements for nominating and selecting trustees of the scheme or directors of a corporate trustee of the scheme.

New section 18A: Employer’s proposals for selection of trustees or directors

475. New section 18A(1)(a) gives employers the right to propose arrangements for nominating and selecting trustees. Subsection (1)(b) ensures the arrangements provide for at least one third of the trustees to be member-nominated trustees, and that the other requirements of section 16(3) to (7) apply. Subsection (1)(d) requires that the proposal is approved by scheme members. Subsection (1)(d) also incorporates the regulation-making power similar to that contained in section 21(7) which will enable a statutory consultation procedure for seeking member approval for the proposal to be prescribed. This will be largely the same as the current procedure that is provided in Schedule 1 to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Member-nominated Trustees and Directors) Regulations 1996, although the procedure may be tightened to reduce any opportunity for abuse. Regulations made under subsection (1)(e) will impose additional conditions on employers, for example to give notice to the trustees of the intention to propose arrangements. Section 18A(2) makes the equivalent provision for trustee companies. Once approved, the trustees are charged with implementing the arrangements.

476. New section 18A(3) allows regulations governing arrangements under an employer’s proposal to provide for different nomination and selection arrangements from those made under the statutory route. For example, the employer will be able to propose that nominations for trustees are made by organisations representing members (such as Trades Unions and pensioner organisations) as well as members themselves.

477. New section 18A(4)(a) provides the power to make regulations governing the manner and time in which trustees must implement approved arrangements. This is similar to the current power under section 21(4)(a). Trustees will be given six months following approval to ensure that the arrangements are made, and trustees appointed. Regulations under subsection 18A(4)(b) will determine when approval of section 18A arrangements cease to have effect. As now, approval will last for six years. They will also determine what happens when approval of arrangements ceases to have effect without the existing arrangements having been re-approved or fresh arrangements approved.

478. New section 18A(5) enables regulations to be made about approval of arrangements for the purpose of section 18A. Regulations under subsection 18A(5)(a) will give the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) the discretion to treat proposals as approved in certain circumstances where there is a breach of the requirements of the approval process. Regulations under subsection 18A(5)(b) will provide for proposals to be treated as approved by persons who do not object. The existing section 21(8)(b) allows the approval process to operate in this way. Regulations will, as now, provide for proposals to be approved if not more than 10% of those consulted object.

479. New section 18A(6) permits nominations for a member-nominated trustee or director to be made by an organisation of a prescribed description that represents the interests of members of the scheme. It also permits nominations by such organisations to be the only nominations. It is intended that regulations will prescribe that recognised Trades Unions and pensioner organisations, for example, can make such nominations.

480. New section 18A(7) disapplies the section as far as it applies to member-nominated trustees in cases where all the trustees comprise all the members, or where there is only a corporate trustee (or trustees).

481. New section 18A(8) is a regulation-making power to disapply the section for schemes of a prescribed description. This provision is required in addition to the exemptions from sections 16 and 18 because those sections impose a mandatory requirement on all trustees, whereas this section only applies if the employer chooses to propose scheme-specific arrangements. In practice, section 18A will be disapplied for the same classes of scheme that are exempt from sections 16 and 18.

482. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 45 are consequential amendments to, respectively, sections 68(2) and 117(2)(c) of the Pensions Act.