The Occupational Pension Schemes (Requirement to obtain Audited Accounts and a Statement from the Auditor) Regulations 1996

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE E+W+S CONTENTS OF ACCOUNTS AUDITED BY THE AUDITOR OF THE SCHEME

1.  An account of the financial additions to, withdrawals from and changes in value of the fund of the scheme during the scheme year to which the accounts relate. E+W+S

2.—(1) A statement, as at the end of the scheme year to which the accounts relate, of the assets at market value, or trustees’ or managers’ estimate thereof where market value is not readily ascertainable and liabilities of the scheme, other than liabilities to pay pensions and benefits after the end of that scheme year— E+W+S

(a) giving, in the case of any assets which are stated at an estimate of their market value, the reason why the valuation is an estimate;

(b) showing the distribution of the investments and other assets of the [F1 scheme] between each of the following categories (where none of the investments falls within a particular category, that fact is not required to be stated), namely—

(i) insurance policies;

(ii) public sector fixed interest investments and separately showing quoted securities and unquoted securities;

(iii) other fixed interest investments and separately showing quoted securities and unquoted securities;

(iv) index-linked securities and separately showing quoted securities and unquoted securities;

(v) equities (including convertible shares) and separately showing quoted equities and unquoted equities;

(vi) property (which in this paragraph means any right or interest in freehold or leasehold land or buildings);

(vii) unit trusts invested in property;

(viii) other unit trusts;

(ix) managed funds (other than unit trusts) invested in property;

(x) other managed funds (not being unit trusts);

(xi) loans (whether or not secured by mortgages);

(xii) cash deposits and cash in hand;

(xiii) investments and other assets not included in heads (i) to (xii) above; and

(c) showing separately, in the case of investments in each category, investments in the United Kingdom and investments outside the United Kingdom, and in the case of investments mentioned in heads (vii) to (x) of sub-paragraph (b) investments where the company operating the unit trust or managed funds is, and investments where it is not, a company registered in the United Kingdom.

(2) Where the assets include insurance policies which are specifically allocated to the provision of benefits for, and which provide all the benefits payable under the scheme to, particular members or other persons in respect of particular members or both, those policies must be included in the statement and there must be a note of the existence of such policies but that entry need not include their market value or an estimate.

[F2 (3) Where the assets—

(a) are invested only for the purposes of securing additional money purchase benefits derived from voluntary contributions F3 ...; and

(b) are specifically allocated to the provision of additional benefits for particular members or other persons in respect of particular members (or both),

a note that paragraphs (a) and (b) apply must be included in the statement, but that entry need not include the market value or an estimate of value of those assets.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in Sch. para. 2(1)(b) substituted (6.4.1997) by The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/786), reg. 1, Sch. 1 para. 13(4)(a)

F2 Sch. para. 2(3) inserted (6.4.1997) by The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/786), reg. 1, Sch. 1 para. 13(4)(b)

F3 Words in Sch. para. 2(3)(a) omitted (6.4.2006) by virtue of Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration and Audited Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2426), regs. 1(2)(c), 2(5)

3.  Where any assets or liabilities are denominated in currencies other than sterling, a translation of those assets into sterling and an explanation of the basis on which they have been translated. E+W+S

4.  Particulars of any investment (other than in UK Government securities) in which more than 5 per cent. of the total value of the net assets of the scheme is invested, and if any such investment is an insurance policy, a statement of its main characteristics. E+W+S

[F4 5.   Where the scheme has employer-related investments, within the meaning of section 40(2) of the Pensions Act 1995, a statement— E+W+S

(a) as to the percentage of the scheme’s resources invested in such investments at the end of the scheme year; and

(b) if that percentage exceeds 5 per cent., as to the percentage of the scheme’s resources which are investments to which [F5 regulation 13 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005 (investments to which restrictions do not apply)]applies.]

Textual Amendments

F4 Sch. para. 5 substituted (12.1.1998) by The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/3038), regs. 1, 8

F5 Words in Sch. para. 5(b) substituted (6.4.2006) by Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/778), regs. 1(1)(b), 5

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. para. 5 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2011) by The Application of Pension Legislation to the National Employment Savings Trust Corporation Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/673), regs. 1(1), 3

[F6 5A.— (1) Where the scheme is a trust scheme that applies to earners in employments under different employers, a statement in accordance with paragraph 5 or a statement— E+W+S

(a) listing the 100 largest investments by value held by the scheme at the end of the scheme year and stating what percentage of the resources of the scheme each such investment represents;

(b) identifying which of the investments mentioned in paragraph (a) are employer-related investments;

(c) if, as at the end of the scheme year, more than 5 per cent of the resources of the scheme are invested in employer-related investments in contravention of section 40(1) of the Pensions Act 1995, listing the employer-related investments and the employer concerned.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) “employer-related investments” has the meaning as in section 40(2) of the Pensions Act 1995 but as if the following words were omitted from subsection (2)—

(a) in paragraph (a) “or by any person who is connected with, or an associate of, the employer”; and

(b) “or any such person” in each place where they occur.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Para. 5A inserted into Sch. (6.4.14) by S.I. 2013/2734, reg. 1, Sch. 9, 4(3)

6.  In respect of every amount shown in the accounts other than the amounts referred to in paragraph 7, a statement of the corresponding amount for the scheme year previous to the one to which the accounts relate, except in a case where regulation 2 is complied with by trustees [F7 or managers] of a scheme for the first time. E+W+S

Textual Amendments

F7 Words in Sch. para. 6 inserted (6.4.1997) by The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/786), reg. 1, Sch. 1 para. 13(5)

7.  The total amount of the purchases and the total amount of the sales of investments during the scheme year to which the accounts relate. E+W+S

8.  A statement whether the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice, the guidelines (“Financial Reports of Pension Schemes") published by the Pensions Research Accountants Group or another organisation approved for this purpose by the [F8 the Financial Reporting Council Limited], current at the end of the scheme year to which the accounts relate and, if not, an indication of where there are any material departures from those guidelines. E+W+S

Textual Amendments

F8 Words in Sch. para. 8 substituted (2.7.2012) by The Statutory Auditors (Amendment of Companies Act 2006 and Delegation of Functions etc) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1741), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 4