Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
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paragraphs: These Regulations and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006 to 2019 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006 to 2021.
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paragraphs: The Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 301 of 2006 ) are amended –
(a) in Regulation 4 by -
(i) in the definition of “affiliated employer”, by the substitution of “sections 7 and 8 of the Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014) respectively” for “ section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963 , (No. 33 of 1963)”;
(ii) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition for “designated benefit”:
“ “Directive of 2016” has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Act;”;
(iii) by the deletion of the definition of “One Member Arrangement”;
(iv) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition for “preserved benefit”:
“ “Regulations of 2021” means the European Union (Occupational Pension Schemes) Regulations 2021 ( S.I. No. 128 of 2021 );”, and
(v) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition for “relevant person”:
“ “representative” means a person authorised by a member or beneficiary of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, to represent the member or beneficiary, as the case may be, in so far as the information to be provided to the member or beneficiary in accordance with these Regulations is relevant to the rights of such a member or beneficiary of the scheme;”;
(b) in regulation 5 –
(i) in sub-article (1), by the deletion of “(other than a One Member Arrangement)”;
(ii) in sub-article (2), by the substitution of “Subject to sub-article (7)” for “Subject to article 8”;
(iii) in sub-article (5)(a), by the substitution of “in the case of a sole trustee which is a body corporate, by two directors of that body corporate” for “if there is only one trustee, by that trustee”, and
(iv) by the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (6):
“(7) In the case of a one-member arrangement established before the coming into operation of the Regulations of 2021, the requirements of this article shall apply in respect of the same year for which such an arrangement is required to prepare the first annual report in accordance with section 55(8)(c)(ii) of the Act.”;
(c) in Regulation 6 –
(i) by the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article (1) –
“(1) In this article, ‘relevant scheme’ means a scheme to which section 56 of the Act applies other than a scheme to which sub-article (6) applies.”;
(ii) in sub-article (6) -
(I) by the substitution of “Subject to sub-article 6A, the trustees” for “The trustees”;
(II) by the deletion of “a One Member Arrangement, or”, and
(iii) by the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (6):
“(6A) In the case of a one-member arrangement established before the coming into operation of the Regulations of 2021, the requirements set out in sub-article (6) shall apply in respect of the same year for which such an arrangement is required to prepare the first annual report in accordance with section 55(8)(c)(ii).”;
(d) in Regulation 9 -
(i) in sub-article (1)(a), by the insertion of “and shall be publicly disclosed” after “to the relevant persons”;
(ii) in sub-article (2)(b), by the insertion of “or, in the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, to a representative,” after “to any of the other relevant persons”, and
(iii) in sub-article (4) -
(I) in paragraph (a), by the insertion of “or, in the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, and except in the case of valuation reports, a representative,” after “any of the relevant persons”;
(II) in paragraph (b), by the insertion of “subject to paragraph (c),” before “furnished on request”, and
(III) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b) –
“(c) in the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, and except in the case of valuation reports, furnished on request free of charge to a member or beneficiary of the scheme, or a representative, not later than 4 weeks after the request is made.”;
(e) in Regulation 10 –
(i) in sub-article (1), by the substitution of “specified in sub-articles (1B), (2), (3), (3A) and (3B)” for “specified in sub-articles (2) and (3)”;
(ii) by the insertion of the following sub-articles after sub-article (1):
“(1A) In the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, the trustees of the scheme shall notify members and beneficiaries, or a representative, of any relevant information in respect of changes to the scheme rules, not later than 4 weeks from the date of any such change, and shall, with that notification, provide -
(a) the contents of any document which amends or supplements or wholly or partly supersedes the documents referred to in sub-article (1)(a) to (c), and
(b) the notification referred to in Article 11(4)(a), if applicable.
(1B) In the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, a copy of the documents specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) of sub-article (1) shall be furnished, free of charge, to every member or beneficiary, within 2 months, as the case may be, of the person becoming a member of the scheme or benefits becoming payable to the beneficiary under the scheme.”;
(iii) in sub-article (3), by the substitution of “Subject to sub-article (3A), a copy” for “A copy”, and
(iv) by inserting the following sub-articles after sub-article (3) –
“(3A) In the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, a copy of the documents specified in sub-article (1) shall, on request by a member or beneficiary of the scheme, be furnished to such a member or beneficiary, free of charge, not later than 4 weeks after the request is made.
(3B) In the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, a copy of the documents specified in sub-article (1), and the information referred to in paragraph (e) of that sub-article, shall be furnished to any prospective members who are not automatically enrolled in the scheme, before they become a member of the scheme.”;
(f) by the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 10:
“Disclosure of Information in relation to schemes – General requirements
10A. (1) In the case of a scheme to which the Regulations of 2021 apply, where the trustees of such a scheme are required to provide information under these Regulations to members, beneficiaries, a representative, or prospective members, the trustees of the scheme shall ensure that the information is maintained, presented and provided in the manner set out in sub-article (2).
(2) The information referred to in sub-article (1) shall be:
(i) updated;
(ii) written in a clear manner, using clear, succinct and comprehensible language, avoiding the use of jargon and avoiding technical terms where everyday words can be used instead;
(iii) not misleading, and consistency shall be ensured in the vocabulary and content;
(iv) presented in a way that is easy to read;
(v) available in the English language, and
(vi) made available to members, beneficiaries and prospective members free of charge through electronic means, including on a durable medium or by means of a website, or on paper.”;
(g) in Regulation 11 –
(i) by the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article (1):