A new service has been introduced for employers shutting down their company pension schemes and entering the pension protection fund (PPF). The PPF Preparation Service was set up by pension provider firm Higham Group and is aimed at trustees tasked with winding-up plans. It includes advice, software, training and programmes that can review and correct scheme records.
Director Russell Agius said: "When the employer becomes insolvent, the new regulator by law will appoint a new trustee to make sure the scheme is prepared in the proper way. This service helps them to jump over the hurdles and get into the PPF." He said that, should disaster strike, trustees need to "ensure their advisers ([and] in particular their administrators) are prepared for the PPF and understand the detailed complexities of the assessment period".
He added: "This is a new stage in the scheme's life and the knowledge and system requirements are significantly different to those needed for ongoing pension scheme administration."
For more information telephone Russell Agius at Higham Group on 020 7620 8264.