Part 1: Collective Money Purchase Benefits Triggering events and continuity options Section 44: Pause orders
This section enables the Pensions Regulator to pause certain activities once a collective money purchase scheme has experienced a triggering event. Subsections (2) to (4) state that a pause order may be made if the Regulator is satisfied it will help the trustees carry out their implementation strategy (see section 39), or if the Regulator believes that doing so is necessary to protect the interests of the generality of the scheme members and that there is, or there is likely to be, an immediate risk to the interests of members of the scheme or the assets of the scheme if an order is not made.
	A pause order is an order containing one or more directions that prevent a scheme from carrying out any or all of a number of actions which are specified in subsection (5) whilst the order has effect. These include:
	accepting new members;
	making payments towards the scheme;
	making transfers out of the scheme; and
	paying benefits (or specified benefits).
	The pause order may relate to all such actions, or those related to specified members, employers, payments or groups of such actions.
	Subsection (6) provides that where a direction in subsection (5)(b) is made (preventing payments from being made towards the scheme), it does not include payments due to be made before the order takes effect. It does include payments in respect of pension credits where the person entitled to the credit is a member of the scheme.
	Subsection (7) relates to a direction under subsection (5)(e) that no transfers or transfer payments are to be made out of the scheme of, or in respect of, a member’s rights. It states that the direction may provide that these transfers or transfer payments cannot take place unless specified conditions are met and the amounts paid out in respect of these transfers are determined in a specified manner.
	A pause order may require the trustees to obtain an actuarial valuation within a specified period (subsection (8)). An order containing such a requirement must (subsection (9)) specify the date by reference to which the matters to be set out in the valuation must be determined, the information and statements it must contain and any other requirements the valuation must satisfy.
	There is further provision about pause orders in Schedule 2.