1.
In a recent written statement to Parliament, Stephen Timms MP, the DWP Minister for Pensions Reform, has said that, following representations that were made during the recent consultation exercise on the draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006, the Government has decided not to require non-money purchase occupational pension schemes to provide deferred members and pension credit members with automatic annual benefit statements about their pension entitlement as it would be “disproportionate”.
However, he explained that the current requirement to provide, on request, relevant information to deferred and pension credit members would be contained in the final Regulations.
2. The Minister went on to say that the Government hoped that those occupational pension schemes that currently provided annual benefit statements on a voluntary basis to deferred and pension credit members would continue to do so as this was regarded as being a “helpful facility”.
3. Stephen Timms added that the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006 would require automatic annual statements to be provided to all active members of non-money purchase occupational pension schemes with the Regulations coming into effect from October 2006 although the changes to annual benefit statements would only be applicable for scheme years ending on or after 6 April 2007.