Law and Regulation

A convicted fraudster has been jailed after scamming tens of thousands of pounds from almost 800 victims in a complex pension fraud operation, a South Wales police force has said.

Nearly one in 10 over-55s fear they have been targeted by suspected scammers since the launch of the pension freedoms, research by Prudential has found.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has warned it will seize assets from employers who fail to pay fines relating to their schemes in a further strengthening of its enforcement activity.

Trustees would have limited role in scheme governance if their duties simply include applying the employers' remuneration strategy and always seeking consent for other changes, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Former Pension Protection Fund (PPF) chief executive Alan Rubenstein says he would have liked to see 'more action' on recovery periods for underfunded schemes.

Concluding that the purpose of a pension scheme is not simply to apply the employer's preferred remuneration strategy would result in trustees becoming "paymaster", the Court of Appeal has been told.

In this week's Pensions Buzz, we want to know if you agree with comments made by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, and whether the pensions dashboard is still on track.

The prospect of public sector workers losing some of their pension because of mistakes made by the government is "disgraceful", the Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman says.

Regulation aimed at improving the governance of occupational pension schemes has left the sector "regulated to the lowest common denominator" with a "prescriptive and micro-managerial approach".

It is unlawful for the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to provide compensation equivalent to less than half a member's accrued benefits, an advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) says.