The Pension Schemes Act 2021 (‘the Act’) has received Royal Assent, with the UK government indicating that key provisions will come into force by autumn 2021.

The Act includes a number of provisions that will significantly impact restructuring activity involving financially distressed groups with a UK defined-benefit (DB) pension scheme.

What will change under the Act?

Below are some of the most significant changes being introduced by the Act.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced that it has withdrawn moral hazard proceedings against Chemtura Manufacturing UK Limited and its US parent, Chemtura Corporation. This follows an agreement being reached by Chemtura with the trustees of the Great Lakes UK Limited Pension Plan (the Plan) over its funding package.

We reported in our previous blog published on 15 June 2020 (“The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill – a pensions perspective”) that a number of pensions concerns had been raised about the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill). As a result, the Bill was subject to significant amendment and debate from a pensions perspective in the House of Lords.

A section 75 debt is a debt due from an employer in a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme to the trustees of the scheme.

The new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) has been introduced into the UK Parliament and proposes significant changes to insolvency law, including:

When an employer leaves a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme, an employer debt - a section 75 debt - may arise if the scheme was underfunded.

5 What will happen if a Type A event occurs? If a Type A event occurs without appropriate steps being taken there can be a number of consequences. (i) Impact on relationship with pension scheme trustees Pension schemes have long term liabilities. Sponsoring employers therefore generally expect to have a long term relationship with the trustees of their scheme. That relationship could be damaged if a Type A event occurs and the trustees are not kept informed or if they consider that their concerns about such events have not been addressed.

Third parties associated with an employer may find themselves liable to contribute to the employer's occupational pension scheme.

Summary

This briefing looks at the “period of grace” provisions that can apply in some cases to the debts that arise on employers under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995.
In a multi-employer scheme, if one employer ceases to employ any active members, a s75 debt can arise on that employer. The period of grace provisions allow the employer to serve a notice so that the debt is suspended, giving the employer a period (at least a year, but potentially up to three years if the trustees agree) in which to employ an active member.

A prominent aspect of the most recent wave of restructuring is the significant role often played by defined-benefited (DB) pension liabilities.