ARCHIVED: This Checklist contains information on retirement options for DC members prior to 6 April 2015. It is not maintained and is for background information only. For more information on retirement options for DC members, see Practice Note: Retirement options—DC members. Pre-6 April 2015 pension payment options Until 5 April 2015, a DC member's pension pot could be used to provide one of the following pension payments: • `a scheme pension—a 'scheme pension' means either a pension paid directly by the scheme administrator from the scheme's own funds or a pension paid by an insurance company selected by the scheme administrator. DC occupational pension schemes and personal pension schemes do not usually offer the option of a scheme pension. However, should a DC scheme allow for a scheme pension, the member should first be given an opportunity to select a lifetime annuity instead • a lifetime annuity—pre-6 April 2015 lifetime annuities payable by an insurance company had to satisfy the following requirements: ◦ the member had

Ways of drawing benefits Members of defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes may draw their benefits in a number of ways depending on the provisions of the scheme rules. The options may include: • benefits on normal retirement • exchanging pension for a tax-free cash lump sum (also known as a pension commencement lump sum (PCLS)) • early retirement benefits • ill-health retirement benefits • a serious ill-health retirement lump sum • late retirement benefits • commuting trivial pension for a cash lump sum • flexible retirement • a bridging pension For certain options (eg ill health retirement or trivial commutation), additional requirements must be met if the benefits paid are to be authorised payments under the pensions tax regime set out in Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004). Otherwise, the payments will be unauthorised payments and subject to punitive tax charges on the member and the scheme. Normal retirement DB occupational pension schemes generally provide for the payment of benefits on normal retirement, ie when members reach the scheme's normal

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEMES In a defined contribution (DC) scheme (whether an occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme), the amount of benefits a member is entitled to will be primarily determined by: • the amount of contributions paid in by, or on behalf of, the DC member, and • the investment performance of those contributions The total amount of benefits payable from a scheme to a DC member is referred to as the member's 'pension pot' or 'individual account'. Admission and retirement ages in pension schemes and the normal minimum pension age and State Pension age Admission age Occupational pension schemes can set minimum and maximum ages for admission to the scheme. Employers contributing to a personal pension scheme can also set a minimum admission age to the personal pension scheme (or different minimum ages for admission for different types of employee). They cannot however set a maximum age, unless this can be objectively justified. Retirement age The age specified in an occupational pension scheme’s rules for

What is retirement planning? How do you and your organisation view retirement? Is it something you approach positively or is it viewed with a sense of foreboding? Do you take active steps to plan for your own and others’ retirement or is it just yet another elephant in the room, ignored in the vain hope that something will happen, sometime, that will deal with the problem? For professionals, including lawyers, the route to retirement can often appear challenging. Successful retirement planning needs to address a number of areas, including: • finances • your partnership agreement • regulatory matters • business continuity, and • retirement as a career Addressing the issues in good time can offer a clear strategy leading to a smooth transition for both the individual and the business. Finances It is not uncommon for partners to have to include elements of the business within their personal financial planning, eg a goodwill valuation at retirement, property interests or even the sale of the business. Quite often these plans exist only as concepts without any

With effect from 6 April 2015 (when the pension freedoms were introduced), provisions were inserted in legislation and the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook which require trustees, managers and providers of contract-based and trust-based schemes to give members with flexible benefits (essentially, money purchase or cash balance benefits) information about their retirement options (eg through a ‘wake-up pack’). For further information, see Practice Notes: • Retirement communications in FCA-regulated pension schemes, and • Retirement communications in occupational DC schemes To provide a 'second line of defence' for people who decide not to use the Pension Wise guidance to help them choose a retirement option, the FCA and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have introduced provisions requiring pension providers and trustees of occupational pension schemes providing flexible benefits to give appropriate retirement risk warnings to scheme members seeking to access their pension pot. This Practice Note focuses on the provision of retirement risk warnings as required by the FCA in respect of the pension providers it regulates. For

With effect from 6 April 2015 (when the pension freedoms were introduced), provisions were inserted in legislation and the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which require trustees, managers and providers of contract-based and trust-based schemes to give members with flexible benefits (essentially, money purchase or cash balance benefits) information about their retirement options. For further information on these information requirements, see Practice Notes: • Retirement communications in occupational DC schemes, and • Retirement communications in FCA-regulated pensions Following concerns expressed by the pensions industry about the lack of a safeguard or 'second line of defence' for people who decide not to use the Pension Wise guidance and who may consequently make poor value choices, the FCA, the Pensions Regulator and, later on, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) exercised their powers in 2015/16 to require pension providers and trustees of occupational pension schemes offering flexible benefits to give appropriate retirement risk warnings to scheme members who have decided on a retirement option and are accessing their pension pot. The

Just as executives tend to enjoy better salary packages than the ordinary workforce, so is it often the case that they receive better pension provision from their employers. Executive retirement benefit provision can take a variety of forms, including: • special ‘executive’ sections of group-wide occupational pension schemes offering more generous benefits than the ‘main section’ • executive-only (registered) occupational pension schemes • 'top-up' trust-based (unregistered) pension arrangements, and • unfunded contractual pension promises Prior to A-day (6 April 2006), when the current registered pension scheme tax regime came into force, retirement benefits for executives in excess of the then applicable benefit limits imposed under the tax approved pensions regime were commonly provided through either: • funded unapproved retirement benefit schemes (FURBS), or • unfunded unapproved retirement benefit schemes (UURBS) FURBS and UURBS each possessed some tax advantages and could be operated effectively as top-up arrangements to executives’ existing occupational pension schemes. Since A-day, FURBS and UURBS may be regarded as funded and unfunded Employer Financed Retirement Benefit Schemes (EFRBS)

Identity of retiring partner What is the name and address of the retiring partner? Business details Will the business of the partnership remain the same after retirement of the retiring partner? Will the name of the partnership change after retirement of the retiring partner? Will the premises of the business change? If the partnership is registered for VAT, who will inform HMRC of a change of partners for VAT purposes? If the partnership is registered for PAYE and employer’s NICs, who will inform HMRC of a change of partners for these purposes? Will the new partner be required to register for employee’s NICs? Partnership agreement and other documentation How does the partnership agreement provide for the retirement of a partner? Are defined terms set out in the partnership agreement consistent with those in the proposed retirement deed? What restrictions are in place over the retiring partner post-retirement? Are the restrictions reasonable? Should they be added to? Will the retiring partner be required to give assistance to the partnership post-retirement? Are existing confidentiality obligations

This checklist sets out the key issues to consider when a member retires from a limited liability partnership (LLP). It considers the relevant legal, regulatory and practical issues. Identity of retiring member What is the name and address of the retiring member? LLP agreement and other documentation How does the limited liability partnership (LLP) agreement provide for the retirement of a member? What restrictions are in place over the retiring member post-retirement? Are the restrictions reasonable? Should they be added to? Will the retiring member be required to give assistance to the LLP post-retirement? Are existing confidentiality obligations on the retiring member adequate? What releases are required by the retiring member from any agreements or covenants (eg finance documents)? Retirement details What will be the leaving date of the retiring member? Will special LLP accounts need to be drawn up to ascertain retiring member entitlements and liabilities? If the date of

Identity of retiring general partner What is the name and address of the retiring general partner? Limited partnership agreement and other documentation How does the limited partnership agreement provide for the retirement, resignation and/or removal of a general partner? Does resignation or removal of the general partner dissolve the limited partnership? If not, what proportion of limited partners must consent to the appointment of a new general partner? Are the defined terms set out in the partnership agreement consistent with those in the proposed retirement deed? What restrictions are in place over the retiring general partner post-retirement? Are the restrictions reasonable? Should they be added to? Will the retiring general partner be required to give assistance to the new general partner (if any) post-retirement? Are existing confidentiality obligations on the retiring general partner adequate? What releases are required by the retiring

A reassurance pooling arrangement to increase the capacity a reassurer can offer its life company partners.

Pensions analysis: On 29 April 2024 the Pensions Ombudsman dismissed Mrs E’s (the applicant) complaint that following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange on 18 May 1990, the applicant’s pension scheme’s rules had been wrongly amended to retrospectively increase the normal retirement date (NRD) for the period of her pensionable service prior to the Barber decision. Written by Rowena Wisniewska Sethi, barrister, and Benedict Scantlebury, pupil, at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.