Sections

The Pensions Regulator

Codes of practice

Codes of practice

Code of practice 02
Notifiable events

Legislative framework

  1. The Pensions Act 2004 places a duty on the trustees of schemes, and employers, to notify the Pensions Regulator when certain events occur4.
  2. Regulations made under section 69 of the Pensions Act 2004 set out which events have to be notified5.
  3. Directions, issued by the Pensions Regulator, give exceptions to the duty to notify6. In summary, you need to notify fewer events if the scheme of which you are trustee or employer is funded above the Pension Protection Fund buy out level7, and is adhering to its schedule of contributions. The events which are not referred to in the directions have to be notified by all trustees or employers irrespective of the funding level of the scheme.

Notification arrangements

  1. The Pensions Regulator appreciates that trustees in particular might prefer to agree a collective approach to notification. If, however, a consensus cannot be reached, or not all the trustees are aware of the event, the Pensions Regulator will expect an individual trustee or group of trustees to notify.
  2. With respect to employer-related events, when the employer is a company the individuals who give effect to the legal personality of the company will be responsible for notification in the same way as they are for other legal obligations which fall on companies8. Employers may wish to channel notifications through one individual such as the company secretary.

4 See section 69 of the Pensions Act 2004.
5 See The Pensions Regulator (Notifiable Events) Regulations 2005 (Statutory Instrument 2005/900). There may be additional regulations in future made under section 69. A description of the events is in separate guidance issued by the Pensions Regulator.
6 The directions are in separate guidance issued by the Pensions Regulator.
7 When the directions use the term 'Pension Protection Fund buy out level' this refers to the level of scheme funding (at the last formal actuarial valuation) which would be required to provide scheme members with the amount of compensation to be offered by the Pension Protection Fund. For these purposes this level should be calculated for each scheme on the same basis as will be used for assessing the size of the Pension Protection Fund's risk-based levy. This basis will be set out in regulations to be issued by DWP and guidance to be issued by the Board of the Pension Protection Fund.
8 Likewise, if the employer is not a company but is, for example, a partnership it is the individuals who give effect to the employer's legal personality who will be responsible for notification.