FORTHCOMING CHANGE: 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 TO SCHEMES ENTERING

Background Financial conglomerates are large groups with significant activities in more than one financial sector (banking, investment and/or insurance). They tend to be complex in structure, operate across borders and the wider group can contain unregulated entities (from a financial legislation perspective) and entities not involved in financial services. The bancassurance model has traditionally been the most important operating model for financial conglomerates. Bancassurers are groups which combine both banking and insurance business. Bancassurers are able to offer a full range of financial products in a one-stop shopping model—from traditional banking, through mutual funds to insurance products. For insurance companies, the bancassurance model offers new distribution channels with a stable customer base, while banks are able to diversify products and enhance their profitability by selling more products utilising the same infrastructure already in place and hence reducing operating fixed/overhead costs (economies of scale). Financial conglomerates engage in a range of financial activities which are each regulated by their own sectorial regimes. There was a perceived risk that this sectorial focus created

This Practice Note provides information on issuing claims in the Financial List, or transferring claims in and out of the Financial List, with details on which cases are eligible, what the procedure is (CPR 63A and CPR PD 63AA), the forms to be used, the Guide to the Financial List, the Users’ Committee and the nominated judges in the Financial List. It also deals with the financial markets test case scheme, which provides a procedure for the resolution of market issues on which there is no previous English authoritative precedent. For general guidance on starting a claim or counterclaim, see: Starting a claim or counterclaim—overview. What is the Financial List? The Financial List is a specialist list in the High Court which came into force on 1 October 2015 to deal with complex financial markets cases which are of high value or raise market issues, or both. An example of such a case can be seen in Standard Chartered PLC v Guaranty Nominees Ltd which considered the effect of the cessation of publication

This Practice Note sets out the purpose and structure of the Financial Remedies Court (FRC), which is a subsidiary structure within the Family Court. It addresses the types of cases that may be dealt with in the Financial Remedies Court and the procedure on an application. It also addresses matters of good practice and guidance in the Financial Remedies Court. On 13 March 2026, the Financial remedies guide (March 2026) (the FRG) was issued with the authority of the President of the Family Division. This updates, consolidates and replaces the following documents: • the Statement on the efficient conduct of financial remedy cases allocated to a High Court judge whether sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice or elsewhere (1 February 2016) (the High Court judge level efficiency statement) • the Statement on the efficient conduct of financial remedy hearings proceeding in the Financial Remedies Court below High Court judge level (11 January 2022) (the below High Court judge level efficiency statement) • the Financial Remedies Court Primary Principles document (11 January 2022) • the Notice from

See Practice Note: Regulation of consumer buy-to-let lending in the UK, which describes buy-to-let mortgage lending and in particular consumer buy-to-let (CBTL) lending. It states that a CBTL mortgage contract is a buy-to-let contract which is not entered into by the borrower wholly or predominantly for the purposes of a business carried on, or intended to be carried on, by him. It adds: 'A borrower is regarded as having entered into

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is established under Part XV of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). It is a statutory compensation scheme of last resort for customers of firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The FSCS is funded by levies placed on authorised firms and is independent of the FCA, the PRA and the government. It does not charge claimants for using its service. The PRA and the FCA are jointly responsible for the rule making and oversight of the FSCS, and the three bodies entered into memoranda of understanding (MoUs) detailing how they will co-operate in carrying out their functions with regard to the compensation scheme. The MoUs can be read here (PRA/FSCS) and here (FCA/FSCS). Detailed compensation scheme rules can be found in the following ancillary Practice Notes: • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—the qualifying conditions for compensation • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—payment or rejection of compensation • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—automatic assignment or subrogation of rights • Financial

This Practice Note looks at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the context of pensions. For further information and detail on the FSCS in general, see the following Practice Notes: • The Financial Services Compensation Scheme • The payment or rejection of compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—the qualifying conditions for compensation • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—funding • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—automatic assignment or subrogation of rights • Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)—payment or rejection of compensation What is the FSCS? The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation fund for customers of most financial services firms authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). It came into force on 1 December 2001. The FSCS technically consists of the rules establishing it (the Rules). The Rules were originally made by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and, since 1 April 2013, they are made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential

Rules in Chapter 8 of the Compensation sourcebook (COMP) give the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) the power to reject an application for compensation for a variety of reasons, and, in certain circumstances,

STOP PRESS: The FCA, PRA and HM Treasury have announced significant reforms to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), including final Phase 1 reforms and proposed Phase 2 legislative changes. This Practice Note is in the process of being updated to reflect those developments. In the meantime, see Practice Note: SM&CR—reform of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime. This Practice Note addresses: • the Financial Services Register (FS Register) • the legislation, regulatory rules and guidance relevant to the FS Register • the information published on the FS Register in relation to both firms and individuals • the inclusion of a directory of certified and assessed persons, known as ‘Directory Persons’ (DPs), on the FS Register • the reporting of information relevant to DPs to the FCA under FCA Handbook provisions: SUP 16.26, SUP 16 Annex 47AR and SUP 16 Annex 47BG The Financial Services Register Overview The FCA is required under section 347 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) to maintain a record of persons authorised under FSMA 2000 to

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) is a key part of the UK's legislative framework for financial services regulation. FSMA and related secondary legislation define the 'regulatory perimeter', setting out the activities and entities that fall within the scope of UK financial services regulation. FSMA created the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a regulator for insurance, investment business and banking. From 1 April 2013, the FSA became the FCA regulating firm’s conduct and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) with responsibility to ensure banks maintain financial stability. FSMA also created the Financial Ombudsman Service to resolve disputes as a free alternative to the courts.

The basic requirement for a prospectus to be produced when an offer is made to the public is contained in section 85(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) which provides that it is unlawful for an offer of transferable securities to be made to the public in the UK unless an approved prospectus is made publicly available before the offer is made. FSMA 2000, s 85(5) provides that FSMA 2000, s 85(1) applies: ‘to all transferable securities other than- (a) those listed in Schedule 11A; (b) such other transferable securities as may be specified in prospectus rules.’ FSMA 2000, Sch 11A lists various excluded transferable securities and one category of excluded

Scope of this Practice Note The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023) was introduced as the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB)  to the House of Commons and given its first reading on 20 July 2022. This Practice Note sets out the background to FSMA 2023, provides an overview of FSMA 2023 and considers its key reforms. It also sets out how FSMA 2023 interacts with the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. Background to the FSMA 2023: the implementation of financial regulatory reviews The FSMA 2023 aims to implement the outcomes of the government’s Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review (FRF Review) and of the regime for central counterparties (CCPs) and to make other changes to update the UK regulatory regime. In making those other changes, FSMA 2023 aims to implement the outcomes of other reviews, including the reviews of: • the regulation of wholesale markets • Solvency II and insurers in financial difficulties • access to cash • digital settlement assets and Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) sandboxes • critical third-party service providers • the approval of financial promotions The