The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Penalties) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made under the Pension Schemes Act 1993 and the Pensions Act 1995.

Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and interpretation.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 2(3) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Requirement to obtain Audited Accounts and a Statement from the Auditor) Regulations 1996 so as to apply a civil penalty under section 10 of the Pensions Act 1995 (power of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority to impose civil penalties), instead of a criminal penalty, in respect of any failure to comply with the requirement to obtain accounts audited by the auditor of the scheme or a statement from the auditor about contributions to the scheme, and also to insert a new regulation 2(4) into those Regulations under which the trustees of the scheme are liable to the imposition of a prohibition order under section 3 of the Pensions Act 1995 in respect of any failure to which the new regulation 2(3) applies.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 7 of the Register of Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes Regulations 1997 so as to provide that, for the future, a breach of the requirements imposed by regulation 4(1), 5 or 8(3) of those Regulations renders the trustees or managers of the scheme liable to the imposition of a civil penalty by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority instead of a criminal penalty.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.