PASA releases DC Transfers Guidance – Press Release
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA), the independent body dedicated to driving up standards in pensions administration, today released Guidance DC Transfers.
Kim Gubler, PASA Chair, commented: “The pensions industry is awash with new legislative obligations which require significant effort from all organisations involved in pension transfers. These include:
- The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021 which places additional obligations on those involved in pension transfers to further protect individuals against pension scams
- Stronger Nudge to Pensions Guidance aimed at ensuring savers over 50 either receive Pension Wise guidance or explicitly opt out before transferring, which could have an impact on the timeline of a transfer request
- National Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) increase where any saver whose benefits were transferred after 3 November 2021 may be entitled to a retirement age of 55 if their transferring scheme specifically included this entitlement”
John O’Hara, Chair of the PASA DC Transfers Working Group, added: “The pension transfers landscape has experienced many changes in recent years and the primary aim of this Guidance is to improve the overall saver experience through faster and more secure transfers. The Guidance sets out:
- a standardised and non-prescriptive process flow for transfers, highlighting the important ‘what’ rather than the ‘how’
- a recommendation trustees agree acceptable Service Level Agreement timescales for processing transfers upfront with their administrators template communications for improving transfer processes.”
The Guidance can be found here.
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