FSA supported HMRC in its action to wind up The Freedom SIPP, a SIPP operator. It believed this was appropriate to fulfil its consumer protection objective.

Recent changes to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act have given certain unpaid pension plan contributions priority over a lender’s security if the employer is bankrupt or in receivership. How can a lender monitor the debtor’s pension arrears to assess the extent of the lender’s loss of priority?

The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act now provides that certain unpaid pension plan claims rank ahead of a lender’s security in bankruptcy or receivership proceedings. Effective July 7, 2008, sections 81.5 and 81.6 give super-priority status to:

The British Columbia Provincial government recently passed the Economic Incentive and Stabilization Statutes Amendment Act, 2008 (the “Act”). The Act was aimed at protecting RRSPs to afford self-employed individuals the same protection from creditors as those individuals who have planned for their retirement through a registered pension plan.

To achieve this purpose, the Act amends a number of statutes in British Columbia.

The US Court has approved a bankruptcy settlement under which a US-listed parent company is liable for the buy-out deficits in its UK subsidiary's pension schemes. Key to the court's considerations was the issue of Financial Support Directions (FSDs) by the UK Pensions Regulator against the US parent company.

The court decided that:

Prudent lenders should monitor their corporate debtors’ pension plan liabilities and pension plan deficits because they may have a significant impact on the priority of the lender’s security and on the amount the lender will recover if the lender enforces its security.

Priority with respect to Lender’s Security

Ministerial Decisions

Issuing the Executive Regulations of Sultani Decree No. 31/96 on determining the rules for investing the funds of the Public Authority for Social Insurance and pension funds.

A list of the state pension funds to which these regulations apply is given in Article 2 of this decision.

Issued on 13 June 2017. Effective from the day after the publication date.

Issuing the licensing and working system at the site of the customs territory in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

Bankruptcy practitioners and plan beneficiaries should take note of a little-known ERISA amendment that impacts bankruptcy cases filed on or after September 16, 2006. On June 30, 2008, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the "PBGC") released a proposed rule clarifying how Section 404 ("Section 404") of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the "PPA") will be implemented. Section 404 amends Title IV of ERISA in certain key respects.

Legal Developments

Potential hourly wage system

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MOL) is discussing a potential new employment system for Saudi employees named “Flexible Work” (Flexible Work). Flexible Work will be a system whereby an employee may be paid an hourly wage on a weekly basis in arrears, and various entitlements currently required under the Labor Law for conventional employees would not be required, such as:

Background

Under the Pensions Act 2004 the Pensions Regulator (tPR) has the power to impose a financial support direction (FSD) requiring a company “connected or associated” with the sponsoring employer of a UK pension fund to provide financial support to the pension fund. To date tPR has used the power in insolvencies.

The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the Ontario Court of Appeal today in what is one of the most highly-anticipated cases for the pension and insolvency bars pending before the courts. In Indalex (Re) 2013 SCC 6, the court provided clarity regarding some key questions relating to the governance of an employer-administered pension plan during a proceeding under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The judges split on some of the issues, but here is our brief round-up: