Commentary on Sections Part 3 – General Changes to Pensions Legislation about Pension Schemes Pensions Act 2008
154.Sections 20 to 28 of the Pensions Act 2008 set out the requirements that a pension scheme must meet if it is to be a qualifying scheme for the purposes of meeting an employer’s enrolment duties under pensions legislation. (This is sometimes referred to as ‘automatic enrolment’.)
155.The amendments made by Schedule 2 to the Pension Schemes Act 2015 replace the existing definitions of ‘defined benefits scheme’, ‘money purchase scheme’ and ‘hybrid scheme’ in these sections with the new definitions set out in Part 1 of the 2015 Act, and change the section headings accordingly. The quality requirements are on the whole unchanged (except where stated).
156.Section 26 of the 2008 Act is amended to refer to a personal pension scheme ‘that is a defined contributions scheme’. The requirements are the same except it will no longer be a requirement that all benefits under the scheme must be money purchase benefits.
157.Section 99 of the 2008 Act is amended to substitute the definition of ‘defined benefits scheme’ and insert the definitions of ‘collective benefit’, ‘defined contributions scheme’ and ‘shared risk scheme’ as set out in Part 1 of the 2015 Act, as well as defining ‘occupational’ as it applies to these pension schemes. The original references to ‘defined benefits’, ‘money purchase scheme’ and ‘hybrid scheme’ are omitted.