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How GPPs can join or leave the list of schemes

You need to be aware of a number of points if you want us to add or remove your group personal pension (GPP) to the list of schemes open to all employers looking for a scheme provider for automatic enrolment.

The list of schemes is on the choose a pension scheme page for employers, under the 'Find a scheme yourself' heading.

To speak to us about the list of GPP schemes, contact us.

Join the list of schemes for all employers

If you want us to include your scheme on the list for all employers you need to complete and submit the application form (PDF, 62kb, 3 pages) which asks you to confirm the following:

  • you are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (and Prudential Regulation Authority where applicable) for providing GPPs and provide your registration number
    your GPP is open to all employers who wish to use it to comply with their automatic enrolment duties regardless of projected membership numbers or contribution levels
  • all charges imposed on members in a default fund will be within the charge cap (as detailed in the FCA's Personal Pension Schemes (Restriction on Charges) Instrument 2015, contained in PS15/5)
  • your independent governance committee (IGC) or governance advisory arrangement (GAA) has assessed the GPP (or relevant GPP product series) under offer
  • in year two, we expect the IGC/GAA report to include a statement relating to the value for savers in respect of the relevant GPP product series which confirms that it does not offer 'poor value'
  • employers considering whether to use the GPP can easily obtain the most recent IGC/GAA statements
  • member communications include a clear and accurate description of how tax relief is delivered – if your communications don’t meet the standards set out in our guidance on communicating to members about tax relief on their contributions we may ask you to make changes before your GPP is added to the list; we will discuss this decision with you

We’ll review the information you provide and carry out a number of checks relating to the scheme. We may refuse to list the scheme if we become aware of information which gives rise to concerns that it would be inappropriate to include it on the list, for example due to risk to current or prospective members, or risk to employers’ ability to comply with their automatic enrolment duties. We’ll discuss this decision with you, where possible, although for operational reasons the scheme may be refused listing without prior warning.

Once your scheme is on the list you must tell us immediately if it no longer meets one or more of these criteria.

Specify the product

You need to specify which product line you want us to include on the list.

You also need to make sure you have a web page for the appropriate product(s) so that we can link employers directly to it without the need for an intermediary. We won’t accept a link, for example, to your website home page or for enquirers to be directed to an independent financial adviser.

If you have both a master trust and a GPP you need to apply separately to have each product listed.

Removal from the GPP list

We may remove your GPP from the list if:

  • you fail to confirm that your GPP still meets all the required criteria on an annual basis within three months of the anniversary of joining the list
    within three months of the anniversary of the GPP joining the list, your IGC/GAA fails to complete its annual statement, or if the statement will be delayed
  • you tell us there has been a significant change and you can no longer meet all of the criteria needed for inclusion on the list: for example, you change your criteria for accepting new business which means that not all employers are able to join the scheme, or you make significant changes to your governance and administration which would change the IGC/GAA’s assessment of value for savers
  • we discover that you haven’t told us immediately of changes that mean you can no longer meet all of the criteria needed for inclusion on the list
  • we become aware of regulatory or operational concerns about your GPP

If we remove a GPP from the list our usual approach will be to confirm this to you in writing. If you want us to reinstate the GPP on the list, you will need to ask us again and confirm that it meets the required criteria.

You can ask us to remove your GPP from the list for any reason at any time.

We may choose to remove the list in whole or in part at any time. If we decide to do so we will notify affected parties beforehand.

We may change the criteria for appearing on the list. If we do so we will discuss this with affected parties (and potentially affected parties) before we make any changes.