Statutory requirement • Occupational pension schemes are required by statute to provide short service benefits to certain members whose pensionable service ends before normal pension age. • The preservation requirements are not overriding. A scheme's rules are required to contain provisions that comply with the preservation requirements. • The requirements do not apply to unfunded private sector schemes. • A scheme's rules must not contain any provisions which result, or can result, in a member being treated less favourably as regards short service benefits when compared with long service benefits. Qualification • Members must have at least two years' qualifying service or transferred

Practical points when applying revaluation • Employers and trustees should ensure that any member communication about revaluation of benefits reflects the position under the scheme rules. • Member communications on revaluation should make clear that they are subject to the scheme rules and that, in the event of any conflict, the rules will prevail. • Practitioners should ensure that they do not confuse increases granted to deferred benefits (revaluation) and increases granted to pensions in payment (indexation) under the scheme rules. Statutory requirement to revalue benefits • Statute requires pension schemes to revalue the deferred benefits of early leavers over the period of deferment by a minimum level when they draw their benefits. • Occupational pension schemes must revalue a member's benefits (excluding Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs)). where: ◦ the member's pensionable

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will increase the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028 (save for members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes). The Finance Act 2022 will also give members of registered pension schemes a right to take their benefits before age 57, if on or before 4 November 2021 they either had an ‘unqualified right’ to take benefits or were in the process of a substantive transfer to a scheme offering an unqualified right to a protected pension age of less than 57 on or before 4 November 2021. To benefit from this new 2028 protection, the rules of the pension scheme must have included (on 11 February 2021) an unqualified right to take the entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For further information, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact. THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES In this Practice Note, references to the trustees of

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will increase the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028 (save for members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes). The Finance Act 2022 will also give members of registered pension schemes a right to take their benefits before age 57, if on or before 4 November 2021 they either had an ‘unqualified right’ to take benefits or were in the process of a substantive transfer to a scheme offering an unqualified right to a protected pension age of less than 57 on or before 4 November 2021. To benefit from this new 2028 protection, the rules of the pension scheme must have included (on 11 February 2021) an unqualified right to take the entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For further information, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) to 57—pensions impact. Statutory requirement to revalue benefits Statute requires pension schemes to revalue the deferred benefits of early leavers over the period of

Early neutral evaluation is a form of alternative dispute resolution whereby the parties invite a neutral third party to give an opinion on the merits of the case or particular aspects of the case. The evaluator will generally be a lawyer or an expert in the field.

Notification under the Serious Injury Guide By e-mail to [insert the early notification contact name & email address which is provided for each insurer at http://www.seriousinjuryguide.co.uk/] Dear [insert name ] Re: Accident: Client name: Date of birth: [to follow in separate email] National Insurance Number: [to follow in separate email] We act on behalf of [insert claimant’s name] who suffered injury in an accident on [insert date] at approximately [insert time] during the course of [his

What is an early payment facility? An 'early payment facility' (EPF), or 'supplier finance scheme', is an arrangement set up by a main contractor supported by a bank/banks, which allows sub-contractors to be paid in advance of the contractual payment terms contained in the sub-contract. This Practice Note refers to EPF agreements entered into between a main contractor and a sub-contractor, but this could also apply to other suppliers. EPFs are part of a 'Supply Chain Finance Scheme' announced by the government in 2012 with the intention of supporting suppliers by allowing them to access credit at lower cost and improve cash-flow. EPFs are not restricted to the construction industry—a number of large companies, including retailers, telecoms and automotive companies also offer these sorts of schemes to their suppliers. For further information on government backed schemes to encourage faster payment see Practice Note: Encouraging fair payment in the construction industry. Feedback from the construction industry suggests that a large number of sub-contractors are signed up to these sorts of schemes. A sub-contractor may therefore find that it is able to

Law360: Pensions insurer Just Group has said official government statistics showing that seven in ten people taking flexible payments from their pensions are younger than 65, raising questions about the sustainability of retirement savings in later life.

Occurs when a member retires before his normal pension age and takes a pension before his normal pension age which may be reduced to reflect early payment. Retirement before age 55 is not permitted by HMRC, in respect of registered pension schemes, except in the case of certain high-risk jobs or in cases of ill-health.

The payment of retirement benefits from a pension scheme before a normal retirement date.

The payment of retirement benefits from a pension scheme before a member's normal retirement date. The benefit may be reduced because of early payment.

Law360, London: Insurers could reduce claims for aircraft stranded in Russia by as much as US$10bn through early settlements, a broker has said, but warned that the final bill will still be the largest aviation loss in history.