Winding up

Winding up

The main legislative provisions governing the winding up of occupational pension schemes are:

•
the Pensions Act 1995 (PA 1995, ss 73–74)
•
the Occupational Pension Schemes (Winding Up) Regulations 1996, SI 1996/3126, and
•
the Occupational Pension Schemes (Winding up etc) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/706

An occupational pension scheme may be wound up for a number of reasons, eg because:

•
the membership of the scheme (active and deferred) is too small to justify the cost of continuing to operate it
•
the sponsoring employer is in breach of an important provision in the trust deed and rules (eg the contribution rule) and has failed to correct that breach within a reasonable period, or
•
the scheme has simply become uneconomic and unaffordable for the employer(s) to sustain without putting the whole business at risk of collapse

Powers of the Pensions Regulator

In most circumstances, the power to wind up the scheme will have been exercised by the scheme trustees. However, in limited circumstances, the Pensions Regulator may take the initiative to wind up the scheme.

The

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Pensions News

SPP publishes practical guide on CDC pension scheme implementation

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has published a paper titled ‘From Concept to Practice: A practical guide to CDC pension schemes’, which examines the practical considerations involved in implementing Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pension schemes within the UK pensions industry. The guide provides insights into administration, cost management and governance, with the aim of making CDC schemes accessible, resilient and trustworthy for employers and savers.

Pensions weekly highlights—15 January 2026

This week’s edition of Pensions weekly highlights includes a review of key news stories, as well as dates for your diary and trackers.

Pensions Schemes Bill makes progress at Lords Grand Committee Stage despite strong reservations on LGPS reforms

The House of Lords Grand Committee (Grand Committee) opened its detailed scrutiny of the Pension Schemes Bill on 12 January 2026. Day 1 of the Grand Committee’s examination began on Chapter 1 of the Bill on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and in particular Clauses 1 (Asset pool companies) and 2 (Asset management). Ultimately, all amendments debated on 12 January were withdrawn, and Clauses 1 and 2 were agreed without change. However, the debate raised significant cross-party concern about the breadth of ministerial powers, the heavy reliance on delegated legislation, the protection of fiduciary duty and the extent of ministerial influence over pension investment. On 14 January 2026, the Grand Committee continued its focus on the provisions of Chapter 1 of the Pension Schemes Bill when it agreed Clauses 6 (Mergers of funds), 7 (Amendments of 2013 Act relating to scheme regulations) and 8 (Interpretation of Chapter 1). Again, agreement was reached despite extensive debate highlighting concerns over compulsory mergers, funding positions, contribution prudence and employer affordability, surplus management, transparency, and the impact of local government reorganisation. The government peers maintained that existing statutory, actuarial and governance frameworks are sufficient and that further changes should be considered through consultation rather than primary legislation. The Grand Committee is currently scheduled to sit again on 19, 22 and 26 January 2026 when further detailed examination of the Pension Schemes Bill will continue.

Pressure group urges the House of Lords to agree to retrospective pre-1997 pension increases

Law360: The Pensions Action Group (PAG) has called on members of the House of Lords to back reforms that would see arrears payments made to retirees previously denied inflation-linked pension increases.