Interesting to see that according to a PWC survey conducted earlier this year, 61% of professional trustees reported they needed more information and guidance on the scope of the Pensions Regulator’s enhanced sanctions and penalties in the Pension Schemes Act 2021.

The commencement order bringing the new powers and sanctions into effect was passed on 24 August. From 1 October 2021, the Pensions Regulator will have additional enforcement powers in the event of employer debt avoidance, conduct risking accrued scheme benefits and failure to comply with contribution notices and the notifiable events framework.

Our pensions team is on hand to help employers, trustees, lenders and their advisers to understand and navigate the new powers. Following on from our practical experience of working on the Silentnight case (with which I was delighted to be closely involved advising the Trustees over a number of years), the team is hosting a webinar at 10 a.m. on Thursday 16 September to share their recent insights on the Pensions Regulator’s powers in practice and to give our thoughts as to how the new powers will operate in practice.

To provide further practical support, we have also recently launched our new Burges Salmon PSA Triage Tool which is designed to help employers and trustees to navigate the new powers and make practical decisions following business events. A demonstration of this interactive and user-friendly tool will be given at the webinar. For further information and to register please click: Webinar: Pensions Scheme Act 2021 - Practical Insights from the Silentnight Case (burges-salmon.com)