Commentary on Sections Authorisation criteria Section 8: Financial sustainability requirement
Section 8 provides that the Pensions Regulator must be satisfied that a Master Trust has a sound business strategy and sufficient financial resources to meet the costs of setting up and running the scheme, and to comply with requirements to protect members where an event occurs that may lead to the scheme closing or winding up (see sections 20 to 33 in relation to triggering events and continuity options).
Subsection (4) provides a power for the Department to make regulations on matters that the Pensions Regulator must take into account in deciding if it is satisfied that a Master Trust meets the financial sustainability authorisation criteria. These regulations may include, but are not limited to, the information the Pensions Regulator must take into account (such as the scheme’s business plan and accounts) under subsection (5)(a), and also the financial requirements to be met by the scheme or the scheme funder under subsection (5)(b).
Subsections (6) and (7) provide that the first regulations made under this section are subject to the confirmatory procedure and that any subsequent regulations are subject to negative resolution.