Help is at hand for insolvency practitioners (IPs) who need clarification on the Regulator’s views on scheme trustee appointments and statutory notices. The Pensions Regulator recently released a statement intended to assist IPs to understand these two areas which are of particular relevance to them.

TRUSTEES

The statement deals with scheme trustee appointments in four areas:

With the first PPF levy invoices based on the new Experian insolvency-risk assessment model starting to land on trustees’ door-mats, many schemes have made the unwelcome discovery that their PPF levy for 2015-16 has suffered a substantial hike. Around 200 schemes are reported to have seen levy rises in excess of £200,000.

There will only be minor changes in the levy rules for 2016/17. They will be practical or technical adjustments.

The PPF remains less than content with the covenant strength behind numbers of contingent asset guarantees. The guidance for 2016/17 will have more on the due diligence it expects.

The consultation document also covers:

This month’s summary of “also ran” update items forms a fairly eclectic mix, however some useful items can be pulled out of them.

PPF guidance to Insolvency Practitioners onpre-pack

The Regulator has updated its guidance on assessing and monitoring the employer covenant in order to help trustees apply the defined benefit funding code of practice (“the Code”).

The guidance is intended to identify good practice for trustees in:

New guidance from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) regarding pre-packaged administrations (pre-packs) outlines their approach to pre-packs when the same insolvency practitioner (IP) proposes to continue as office holder in any subsequent liquidation or company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

In February this year, Squire colleagues Paul Muscutt and Helen Kavanagh wrote about the Carrington Wire Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, where  the UK Pensions Regulator accepted a payment of £8.5m to settle warning notices of £17.7m issued to Russian companies that had guaranteed sums due from Carrington Wire to the Scheme (“the Guarantee”).

In a challenging economy bankruptcy increasingly stands accused of constituting a mechanism for debtors to escape their responsibilities at their creditors' expense. It understandably remains a live debate as to whether a bankrupt should be afforded the means of a protected pot of money for his future use while his creditors are left unrecompensed for their loss. The debate is not new, but the balance has perhaps shifted in a climate where creditor losses are felt particularly keenly.

In the United Kingdom, the Pension Protection Fund (“PPF”) is the safety net for the employee members of a defined benefit pension plan or scheme.  The PPF compensates members when an employer has not and cannot put sufficient assets in the pension scheme to meet its obligations to member employees and the employer has suffered a “qualifying insolvency event”.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has issued a guidance note on Insolvency Practitioner remuneration which will apply where the insolvent company has a Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. The guidance note applies to pre and post appointment work.

The Guidance Note can be found here.