FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT: Through the Pension Schemes ACT 2021, a secondary Notifiable events regime is being introduced (under section 69A of the Pensions Act 2004) which will target certain employer-related notifiable events in relation to a DB scheme. This regime includes a requirement to copy in the trustees on their notification to the Pensions Regulator and provide both the trustees and the Pensions Regulator with an ‘accompanying statement’ (also known as a declaration of intent) setting out information on the notifiable event and how any detriment to the scheme is to be mitigated.

On 8 September 2021 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published a consultation on draft regulations which, among other things, detail the type of events that will be subject to the secondary notifiable events regime.

The draft regulations propose that there should be three notifiable events: (i) the intended sale by the employer of a material proportion of its business or assets, in respect of which a decision in principle has been reached; (ii) the intended granting or extending of a relevant security