Pension Schemes Bill will change the law on release of surplus and government considers a PPF-administered consolidator
The UK government has released its response to the previous administration's "Options for Defined Benefit schemes" consultation. The response proposes significant changes to the rules governing use of surplus and confirms that the government will continue to explore the potential for a new consolidator scheme administered by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).
The Pension Schemes Bill 2025 will include new provisions designed to make it easier to release surplus from ongoing schemes, where trustees choose to do so.
There will be a new statutory power for trustees to pass a resolution to amend scheme rules to allow for surplus sharing with the employer where the rules do not currently allow for this. The requirement for trustees to have passed a resolution under section 251 of the Pensions Act 2004 will be repealed.
The government said it is "minded to legislate" to change the threshold for sharing surplus – this presumably could be either under an existing rule or under one introduced using the statutory power to amend scheme rules – from buy-out to fully funded on the new low-dependency basis. It stated: "Sharing of surplus will continue to be at the discretion of …trustees and subject to actuarial certification. Further detail will be set out in draft regulations" on which the government will consult.
Existing...
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