Key Pensions Links
To ensure all GMB members
have the ability to live with dignity and security in work and in
retirement. which will give more information on the structural
framework of the UK pensions system. There are links to
legislation, government departments and other statutory
bodies.
Pensions
Legislation
Below are links to the core
Acts of Parliament that shape today's pensions
environment.
- Social
Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 - this establishes
the current form of National Insurance and State Pension Provision
system
- Pension
Schemes Act 1993 - this established many of the rules by which
occupational pension schemes must be run
- Pensions
Act 1995 - this implemented the need for greater governance of
occupational pension schemes
- Child
Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 - this amended
the State Pension System to replace SERPS with S2P
- Pensions Act
2004 - brought about greater protection for members of
occupational pension schemes which collapse through the Pensions
Protection Fund and established the Pensions Regulator
- Finance Act
2004 - established a new simplified tax regime which governs
contributions to pension schemes and how pensions and related lump
sums can be taken
- Pensions Act
2007 - amends the state pension system to increase the state
pension age and improve increases to the basic state pension.
Introduces the concept of personal accounts meaning that all
employees and employers must contribute to a private pension
plan.
- Pensions
Act 2008 - which lays the foundations for Personal Accounts, a
new system of compulsory occupational pension schemes.
- Finance Act
2011 - which places further restrictions on the tax regime
introduced through the Finance Act 2004.
- Pensions Act
2011 - makes changes to the system of automatic enrolment
(introduced in Pensions Act 2007), and speeds up the increases of
State Pension Age to 65 and 66
State Pensions
and Occupational Pension Schemes
The Pension Service - as run by the Department for Work and
Pensions, offers extensive advice on the elements of the State
Pensions as well as other types of pension. This includes a
forecast of what pension you can receive from the state as well as
other benefits paid to pensioners.
Equality and
Occupational Pension Schemes
As with other matters of
employment, occupational pension schemes are prohibited from
discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation, religious belief,
race disability, type of contract (e.g. part time or fixed term),
sex and age. However of these last two there are inherently
discriminatory practices that are specifically exempted and allowed
to continue.
More information on
discrimination and employment can be seen at the Government's
BusinessLink website.
Public Sector
Schemes
The current system of public
sector pension schemes was established by the
Superannuation Act 1972.
The Scottish Public Pensions Agency
website includes information on the public sector schemes in
Scotland.
The below links will
redirect you to the relevant pension pages for each scheme
Other
Bodies/Links
Pension Protection
Fund - acts as an insurance fund for members of schemes with
insufficient money to pay pensions and whose sponsoring employers
have gone insolvent since April 2005. The PPF also runs the
Financial Assistnace Scheme, which offers prtection to members
whose employer went insolvent between 1997 and March 2005.
Department for Work and Pensions -
government department responsible for maintaining the state and
non-state pension systems in the UK.
The Pensions Advisory
Service - an independent non-profit organisation which gives
advice on pensions and assists individuals with any disputes that
may have arisen with a pension scheme.
The Pensions Ombudsman
- is the arbitrator in resolving disputes concerning pension
schemes.
The Pensions
Regulator - regulates all occupational and stakeholder schemes
in UK.