The highlighted article this month is: Pensions Regulator: compliance and enforcement bulletin for Q1 of 2018 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its latest compliance and enforcement bulletin, covering the first quarter of 2018. The quarter coincided with the end of the staging period for auto-enrolment and therefore saw a significant rise in the use of TPR’s enforcement powers. For example, the number of fixed penalty notices rose from 7,435 to 11,156 and the number of escalating penalty notices increased from 1,440 to 2,770.

In this edition of Insurance Focus, we look at some challenging new areas of law. How can firms ensure that their application of artificial intelligence doesn’t harm customers and impact the firm’s reputation? We look at a best-practice model for AI governance in insurance models. D&O is on the rise globally as attitudes change in relation to executive accountability. Consequently, regulators and shareholders are increasingly incentivised to tackle corporate misconduct. We consider how the regulator in Australia is now getting tough on corporate crime.

Below are links to a full month’s worth of posts from the Cleary Enforcement Watch blog.

Essential Pensions News covers the latest pensions developments each month. Click here to view May 2018 News.

Neil Q. Miller, a Partner in our London office, discusses enforcement of awards against State entities, common issues that can arise, and what to consider at the outset in order to best avoid later issues with enforcement. Click here for more

This article considers the recent decision in Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited in which the English Supreme Court was asked to consider the legal effectiveness of No Oral Modification clauses, or NOM clauses as they are frequently referred to in contractual documents. In upholding the validity of NOM clauses, the Court has added much clarity and certainty to the standing of NOM clauses, and reinforced the primacy of the contractual terms in contract interpretation.

On 8 March 2018, London Stock Exchange plc (the “Exchange”) issued AIM Notice 50 confirming changes to be made to the AIM Rules for Companies (the “AIM Rules”) and to the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers. The revised AIM Rules came into effect on 30 March 2018. Click here for more.

On April 5, 2018, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) published its latest annual funding statement. The statement is aimed at trustees and sponsoring employers of defined benefit (DB) schemes with valuation dates between September 22, 2017, and September 21, 2018 (referred to by TPR as tranche 13 schemes). However, given its wide implications, the statement is relevant to all DB schemes, and its contents should be noted particularly where schemes face significant changes and, as a consequence, require reviews of their funding and risk strategies.

On 1 May 2018 the NCA published a frequently asked questions document in relation to seeking a defence against money laundering offences (Defence) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) The guidance has been compiled in consultation with various money laundering reporting officers and aims to provide practical cross-sector guidance on good practice in drafting Defence Suspicious Activity Reports (Defence SARs). It comes after a 24% increase in Defence SARs between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

With effect from June 30, 2012, legislation came into effect which required employers to automatically enrol eligible employees into pension schemes which meet certain minimum criteria. The background to this legislation was concern about the increasing size of the retired population in the UK, as people live longer, which results in rising state pension costs. The automatic enrolment regime was therefore introduced as a way of encouraging more people to save for retirement.