New legislation ushers in the largest change in the UK’s corporate insolvency regime in over 20 years and raises questions for pension schemes.

Fast-tracked through Parliament in the wake of the Covid-19 emergency, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 came into force on 26 June 2020. It brings in some temporary measures designed to support businesses affected by the pandemic and changes that have been expected for a while. We look at five aspects of the Act that the trustees and employers of UK pension schemes will need to know about.

On Wednesday 29 April the Outer House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh issued an opinion sanctioning two schemes of arrangement proposed by Premier Oil Plc and Premier Oil UK Limited (together, Premier Oil) (the Schemes). The Court addressed multiple grounds of challenge and did so without hearing live evidence, despite disputes of fact between the parties.

The Pension Protection Fund has published updated general guidance on insolvency and the assessment period. This guidance is intended to help Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) to understand what they should do if a DB scheme employer suffers an insolvency event and their role and responsibilities during an assessment period.

Key points and actions for IPs

The guidance confirms a number of key points, including: