The Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/567) (“the 2006 Regulations”).

Regulation 1 provides that the amendments made by regulations 3 to 10 have effect from the tax year 2015-16 and that the amendment made by regulation 11 applies to transfers on or after 6th April 2015. Power to make legislation with retrospective effect is contained in section 282(A1) of the Finance Act 2004 (c. 12), which allows regulations made under Part 4 of that Act (including under section 251) to include provision having effect in relation to times before they are made if that provision does not increase any person’s liability to tax.

Regulations 3 to 6 amend the information obligations in regulations 7, 8, 10 and 14 of the 2006 Regulations to reflect the additional pensions flexibilities in relation to annuities introduced by Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 2015 (c. 11).

Regulations 7 to 10 amend the information obligations in regulations 14ZA, 14ZB, 14ZD and 14ZE of the 2006 Regulations to prevent the same information having to be provided twice in respect of overseas pension schemes.

Regulation 11 inserts new regulations 17B and 17C into the 2006 Regulations. These new information obligations again reflect the additional pensions flexibilities in relation to annuities introduced by Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 2015.

An updated Tax Information and Impact Note was published on 10th December 2014 alongside the Taxation of Pensions Act 2014 and is available on the government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-flexibility-2015. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to this instrument.