The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005

Pension products offered by employers

72.—(1) If the requirements of paragraph (2) are met, the financial promotion restriction does not apply to any communication which is made by an employer to an employee in relation to a group personal pension scheme or a stakeholder pension scheme.

(2) The requirements of this paragraph are that—

(a) the employer will make a contribution to the group personal pension scheme or stakeholder pension scheme to which the communication relates in the event of the employee becoming a member of the scheme and the communication contains a statement informing the employee of this;

(b) the employer has not received, and will not receive, any direct financial benefit from the scheme;

(c) the employer notifies the employee in writing prior to the employee becoming a member of the scheme of the amount of the contribution that the employer will make to the scheme in respect of that employee; and

(d) in the case of a non-real time communication, the communication contains, or is accompanied by, a statement informing the employee of his right to seek advice from an authorised person or an appointed representative.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) “direct financial benefit” includes—

(a) any commission paid to the employer by the provider of the scheme; and

(b) any reduction in the amount of the premium payable by the employer in respect of any insurance policy issued to the employer by the provider of the scheme.

(4) In this article—

“group personal pension scheme” means arrangements administered on a group basis under a personal pension scheme and which are available to employees of the same employer or of employers within a group;

“personal pension scheme” means a personal pension scheme as defined in section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993(1) and which has been approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue under Chapter XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(2);

“stakeholder pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999(3).

(1)

1993 c. 48 as amended by section 239 of the Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35).

(2)

1998 c. l.

(3)

1999 c. 30.