Occupational pension scheme (other than a public service pension scheme) used, or intended to be used, by unconnected employers to provide pension benefits to their respective members.

Pensions analysis: The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has rejected a complaint about a master trust’s charges. Martin Scott of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.

Law360: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should ban pension transfer incentives and require providers to display comparable information about schemes, the People’s Pension master trust said in response to a recent discussion paper published by the FCA. It also commented on a string of other proposals that is said would improve transparency and pension saver outcomes.

Eight master trusts—including People’s Pension, Smart Pension, Nest, and Now Pension—have established the steering group Pathfinder. Representing £162.7 billion in funds under management and 14.5 million savers, the group will examine the modernisation of pension transfer infrastructure through open, interoperable standards (comprising a common set of data and messaging rules that enable different master trust, administrators and technology partners to exchange transfer information in a consistent and secure way).

This Practice Note is a general introduction to master trust schemes, covering among other things the advantages of using such pension schemes, their typical structure and governing documentation, the position of the trustees of such schemes and relevant governance issues. For information specific to the authorisation and supervisory regime applicable to master trusts from 1 October 2018, see Practice Note: The authorisation and supervisory regime for master trusts. What are master trusts? Several definitions of master trusts were developed over time. Early definition by the Pensions Regulator The Pensions Regulator was the first to attempt to define master trusts. It did so in November 2013 when it published its first Code of Practice on defined contribution (DC) schemes. The Code of Practice described master trusts as trust-based occupational pension schemes (for the purposes of section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (PSA 1993)) that are: • established by a product provider • for the benefit of a number of non-associated employers, and • where each employer is not included in its own segregated

CASE HUB ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the commitments accepted on 29 April 2019; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline, commentary and related cases. Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU investigation into Mastercard (interchange fees), looking at restrictions on cross-border acquiring (preventing retailers in a high-interchange fee country from benefitting from lower interchange fees offered by acquiring banks in other countries) and inter-regional interchange fees (where a non-EEA consumer is using a card to purchase goods or services in the EEA) (case number AT.40049). Latest developments On 29 April 2019, the Commission announced that it has accepted commitments offered by Mastercard in relation to inter-regional interchange fees. The commitments offered will reduce inter-regional exchange fees by around 40% on average. Parties Mastercard, the international payment organisation responsible for managing and coordinating the Mastercard and Maestro card payment systems which includes, amongst other things, establishing the rules for the system and providing participating financial institutions with authorisation and compensation services. Responsibility for issuing Mastercard cards and

ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 11 December 2020; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline, commentary and related cases. Case facts Outline Appeal against the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 16 April 2019 which allowed Walter Merricks’s appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment of 21 July 2017 refusing to grant a Collective Proceedings Order. Latest development On 11 December 2020, the Supreme Court issued its judgment in which it upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgment and remitted to Competition Appeal Tribunal for reconsideration. In particular, the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that the CAT made numerous errors of law in refusing to certify Mr Merricks’ mass consumer collective action. Parties Appellants:Mastercard Incorporated, Mastercard International Incorporated and Mastercard Europe S.P.R.L (together, Mastercard). Mastercard is the international payment organisation responsible for managing and coordinating the Mastercard and Maestro card payment systems which includes, amongst other things, establishing the rules for the system and providing participating

CASE HUB (appeals lodged by Sainsbury’s before the Supreme Court (UKSC 2018/0156 and UKSC 2018/0154) ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 4 July 2018; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline, commentary, and related cases. Case facts Outline Appeals in relation to competition damage claims brought by retailers against MasterCard and Visa relating to multilateral interchange fees (MIF) (judgments appealed: Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v MasterCard Incorporated, Asda Stores Limited v MasterCard Incorporated and ors, WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC v MasterCard Incorporated and ors, Argos Limited and ors v MasterCard Incorporated, and Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Visa Services LLC and ors). The Court of Appeal issued its judgment on 04/07/2018, ruling that MIFs were in violation of competition law. Article 101(3) TFEU and quantum issues to be remitted to CAT for reconsideration. Latest developments According to press reports, the UK Supreme Court confirmed on 9 August 2018 that MasterCard and Visa have sought permission from the Supreme Court to appeal the Court of Appeal’s

Law360, London: The landmark class action brought by Walter Merricks against Mastercard has entered 'Alice in Wonderland' territory, as the credit card giant is now backing the class representative who sued it in his dispute with his litigation funder over the terms of the controversial settlement, analysts say.

Law360, London: Mastercard's £200m agreement with Walter Merricks 'does not have to be perfect' to get approval from the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), lawyers for both sides argued on 19 February 2025 in the court's first hearing in a contested class action settlement.

Law360, London: The Competition Appeal Tribunal said on 21 February 2025 that it would approve a £200m settlement between Mastercard and Walter Merricks to end litigation over credit card fees, despite 'some concerns about how the matter was dealt with' in the lead-up to the deal being reached.

A masterplan deals with change in a defined physical area for a defined time period. It sets out proposals for buildings, spaces, movement and land use and matches these aspirations with an implementation strategy. Masterplans can be prepared for any stage of a project’s life.