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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing a fiduciary duty for the governance committees of pension funds to their members.

Justin Tomlinson

Under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules introduced in April 2015, independent governance committees (IGCs) have a clear duty to challenge providers on the value for money of their workplace pension schemes, acting in members’ interests, raising concerns and making recommendations as appropriate. The provider must also make arrangements for member views to be directly represented to the IGC.

The provider’s board has a “comply or explain” duty in response to recommendations from the IGC and if the IGC is not content with the board’s response it can escalate to the FCA, to members of the scheme and to the public. When coupled with the IGC’s duty to act in members’ interests, this provides a practical and direct way of ensuring good member outcomes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, whether trades unions which are not formally recognised by an employer will be entitled to request and receive the Chair’s Statement.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, when the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority plan to publish the evidence received on transaction costs for pension trusts; and what the timetable is for determining the next steps referred to.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, for what reason the Chair’s Statement must be requested by beneficiaries rather than provided automatically.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to review the governance arrangements of pension funds.

Justin Tomlinson

The draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Scheme Administration) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 laid before Parliament on 1 February, include a review provision as required by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 which will oblige the Secretary of State to carry out reviews at least every 5 years of all the governance requirements for occupational pension schemes covered in Part V of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Scheme Administration) Regulations 1996 as amended by this instrument. Subject to Parliamentary approval the draft 2016 Regulations will come into force on 6 April 2016. We will consider in due course how this review would work in practice.

On the governance of workplace personal pension schemes, the Financial Conduct Authority propose to carry out a review of the effectiveness of independent governance committees in 2017.