Pensions Bill Update

25 November 2004

The Pensions Bill has now received Royal Assent and it has, therefore, become the Pensions Act 2004

The Pensions Bill has now received Royal Assent and it has, therefore, become the Pensions Act 2004 (not to be confused, of course, with the Pensions Act 1995, which remains in place). The new Act was hotly debated in Parliament, with over 1,200 amendments since May alone, and you may have read about all the last minute issues raised by the House of Lords that were not accepted by the Government. The new Act covers a lot of territory and will, inter alia, launch the new Pension Protection Fund and the new Pensions Regulator, both with effect from 2005 - these will have both have a significant impact on final salary pension schemes in particular.

More information about the Pensions Act 2004 can be found on the DWP website.

As with the Finance Act, which includes all the Pensions Simplification issues, the detailed rules and regulations under the Pensions Act 2004 will appear over the next few months.