Commentary on Sections Miscellaneous Section 298: Disclosure of state pension information
1267.This section amends section 42 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 to allow state pension information to be disclosed to agents, third party administrators and others providing certain services to trustees, managers and employers in relation to pension schemes as well as to the trustees, managers or employers themselves. State pension information may be disclosed by the Secretary of State to such persons if the procedures set out in section 42(4)(b) and (5) and the regulations made under them are followed.
1268.Section 42(3A) as inserted will more easily allow scheme members to be given a combined pension forecast where advice or forecasts are provided by third parties to the pension scheme managers or trustees rather than being produced by pension scheme managers or trustees themselves. The lack of reference to such third parties in the existing legislation has limited the number of pension schemes able to provide combined pension forecasts because it has prevented the supply of state pension information by the Secretary of State. (See also Part 4 of this Act).
1269.Subsection (4) inserts a reference in section 42(7) to projections of any lump sum to which a person may be entitled. Subsection (5) amends section 42(11) to include lump sums in the definition of state pension information and to include shared additional pension and graduated retirement benefit in the definition of additional retirement pension.