FIN.

Category - Pensions

FCA reminds firms to be prepared for Brexit

With the end of the Brexit transition period in sight, the FCA has issued a press release reminding firms to be prepared. The FCA expects firms to have assessed the impact of the changes that will take effect, on both...

HM Treasury extends consultation deadlines

Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review Phase II Consultation – further to the consultation document published on 19 October 2020, the consultation has been extended by one month to 19 February 2021...

ABI calls for advice charging overhaul

ABI says that nearly 75% of consumers say they will not pay for financial advice. It says the regulatory environment needs to adapt so that customers can get the advice they want and that is fit for purpose. It carried...

EIOPA finalises Pan-European Pension Product

EIOPA has provided the Commission with a set of draft RTS and ITS and its advice on delegated acts needed to implement the Pan-European Personal Pension Product framework.  It has already developed the PEPP KID and PEPP...

Consumer Panel mulls digital advertising

The Financial Services Consumer Panel has published a discussion paper on digital advertising in financial services.  It is deeply concerned about the use of “adtech” to create detailed profiles of...

FCA makes new rules

FCA has published a Handbook Notice covering the rules it made at its May and June Board meetings. changes to COBs in relation to pension transfers, introducing a ban on contingent charging in respect of most advice on...

FCA updates on Covid-19 delayed activities

FCA has confirmed some further delays to projects and extensions to proposed deadlines, in light of Covid-19. Various deadlines now postponed until later in 2020-or to 2021 include: The Directory of Certified Persons...

FCA consults on pensions value for money

FCA is consulting on measures that will make it easier for governance committees to compare the value for money of pensions products and services, so the value for workplace pension scheme members can be better assessed...

Treasury consults on BRRD2 implementation

Treasury is consulting on the UK implementation of BRRD2. The implementation date is 28 December 2020, so before the end of the Transitional Period.  Treasury proposes to implement all those parts of the Directive that...

FCA sets out new DB measures

FCA has published a package of measures to address weaknesses across the defined benefit transfer market. The key changes will: ban contingent charging in almost all circumstances. This will remove the conflict that an...

Compulsory FCA survey coming to firms

FCA is to send a survey by email with a link to 13,000 solo regulated firms,  aimed to helping FCA understand the impact of Covid 19 on regulated firms and their financial resilience, where the greatest impacts are for...

FCA updates guidance for pensions firms

The FCA has published an update for financial services firms operating in the pensions market. This represents an attempt to allow both the FCA and those firms to reprioritise resources towards preventing and reducing...

FCA Business Plan 20/21

The FCA published its business plan for the coming year this morning.  The plan focuses around 5 key priorities for the year.  It has been significantly reshaped because of coronavirus as it was intended to show the...

Regulator Covid-19 update 3 April

On 3 April: PRA and FCA updated dual-regulated firms on how their should deal with furloughing and compliance with the SMCR; EBA published guidelines on the criteria for public and private moratoria applied before 30...

FCA publishes annual sector views

The FCA has just published its annual sector views report which comprises a state of the nation in terms of the financial services industry. The report sets out the drivers for change in each financial services sector...

ESMA outlines sustainable finance strategy

On 6 February, ESMA published its sustainable finance strategy which sets out how ESMA plans to focus on sustainability. ESMA’s key priorities include: completing the regulatory framework on transparency...

TPR fines FCA Pension Plan

The Pensions Regulator has fined the FCA Pension Plan £2,000 for a non-compliant chair’s statement, the maximum penalty which it can levy for this type of breach. The chair’s statement requires trustees of...

FSCS announces Plan and Budget

FSCS has published its full Plan and Budget for 2020/2021. As well as the indicative levy of £635m (£87m more than the current year, mainly because of a rise in SIPP operator claims) and management expenses budget of...

Bills not to progress due to election

Parliament has updated its webpages in respect of the Goods Mortgages Bill, the Pension Schemes Bill and the Financial Services Duty of Care Bill.  The 2017-2019 Parliamentary Session was dissolved on 6 November ahead...

FCA makes new rules

FCA’s latest Handbook Notice summarises various instruments made at the end of September and October: the Overdrafts (Information and Tools) Instrument 2019 takes effect on various dates to 6 April 2020, and...

FCA issues statement for SIPP operators

The FCA has issued a statement following the administration of Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd (BB) and the administrator’s decision to discontinue BB’s judicial review appeal. BB was involved in...

FCA announces next steps for unit-linked funds

FCA has published its findings and next steps on its review of governance practices covering unit-linked funds. It notes that its Asset Management Market Study found asset managers were not good enough at considering...

FCA updates on Brexit preparations

In a recent speech, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the FCA, provided an update on the FCA’s state of preparation for Brexit, and in particular for a no-deal, no-transition Brexit scenario. However, while Mr...

FCA publishes quarterly consultation

FCA’s latest quarterly consultation covers a number of minor changes to the rules that will be made only if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October,  and also other miscellaneous amendments including: minor...

No strong case to merge Ombudsmen

“There is not a strong case to merge TPO and FOS at the present time” is the conclusion of a tailored review of the Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) published by the DWP.   A merger between the two Ombudsmen...

Regulators launch new ScamSmart campaign

The FCA and the Pensions Regulator are running another media campaign over the summer to warn the public about pension scams. With new research suggesting that 42% of pension savers are potentially at risk (which would...

FCA publishes SMCR final rules

FCA has at last published its final rules on extending the SMCR to solo-regulated firms, including CMCs. It has, in the main, implemented the changes it consulted on in its consultation on “optimising” the...

Tribunal refuses suspension application

Sussex Independent Financial Advisers Limited had applied to the Tribunal for a suspension of the FCA’s decision to vary its permission to remove all its permitted activities on the basis that the firm did not...

Updated FCA and PRA MoU published

The FCA and the PRA have updated the MoU setting out the relationship between the two regulators and the way in which they respectively operate, particularly in common areas. The MoU was first published at the time of...

FCA discusses AI in financial services

In a recent speech, Christopher Woolard of the FCA considered three lenses through which the FCA views the issues relating to AI: what are new, and what are existing issues; how to ensure that AI creates value for...

FCA invites feedback on Gabriel replacement

The FCA has announced that it is planning a replacement for Gabriel, its data collection system.  It has therefore asked current Gabriel users to complete a feedback survey to provide views that can be considered in the...

FSCS sets next year’s levy

FSCS has set its 2019/2020 levy.  It will be £532m, which is slightly more than its forecast, but still less than the 9 month levy for last year (had it been a 12 month levy). FSCS puts the increase down to an uplift in...

FCA proposes 2 new duties for IGCs

The FCA is consulting on proposals to extend the remit of Independent Governance Committees (IGCs). The FCA proposes that IGCs, which provide independent oversight of the value for money offered by workplace personal...

FCA publishes final no-deal Brexit rules

Perhaps in anticipation of what would follow later in the day, FCA published its final instruments and guidance that would apply in the event of a no-deal, no-implementation period Brexit, on the morning of 29 March...

Will SMCR hold up pension transfers?

Pension scheme members wishing to transfer their benefits from a defined benefit (DB) to a defined contribution (DC) pension arrangement have to take financial advice and trustees of DB schemes are required to check...

FCA looks at life beyond Brexit

In a speech on Brexit delivered by Nausicaa Delfas, Executive Director of International, the FCA reminded firms that the deadline for notifications under the temporary permissions regime is 28 March 2019.  Firms that...

UK pension plan gets fraud victory in US

We have written an article on the litigation involving a UK pension plan and a US entity in which it had invested. The pension plan alleged securities fraud on the part of the investee company, and succeeded in winning...

FCA updates rules

FCA has made a number of amendments to various parts of its rulebook, including: amendments to COBS on information relating to pensions savings, taking effect from November 2019 and April 2020; introducing a Devolved...

BoE and FCA update on Brexit approach

BoE and FCA have updated their respective websites with coordinated information on their approach to a hard Brexit. BoE has published a series of materials setting out its updated plans to its supervisory approach to a...