Upper Tribunal increases sum of Contribution Notice issued by Regulator’s Determinations Panel (Pelgrave v The Pensions Regulator)
Pensions analysis: On 1 August 2025, the Upper Tribunal (UT) handed down judgment in Pelgrave v The Pensions Regulator [2025] UKUT 00257 (TCC). The case is only the third time the UT has considered the Regulator’s power to issue a Contribution Notice (CN) under section 38 of the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004), and is the first involving an ongoing scheme and employer. The UT decided to increase the sum of the CN from that decided upon by the Regulator’s Determinations Panel, and made comments of general application about (i) the role of the UT when hearing a reference, (ii) the meaning of being ‘party to’ an act in PeA 2004, s 38, (iii) the operation of the ‘material detriment’ test in PeA 2004, s 38A in the context of a continuing employer, and (iv) the assessment of what sum is reasonable to impose by way of liability, including how to take account of benefits received by a Respondent, any tax paid on those benefits, and the passage of time between the relevant events and the UT hearing. Written by Thomas Robinson KC, barrister at Wilberforce Chambers, London.