The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Early Exit Pension Charges) Regulations 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Section 137FBB of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) (as inserted by the Bank of England and Financial Services Act 2016 (c. 14)) requires the Financial Conduct Authority to make rules preventing specified charges being imposed on members of pension schemes who take, convert or transfer pension benefits after they have reached normal minimal pension age but before their expected retirement date. These Regulations specify matters that are not to be treated as early exit pension charges for the purposes of section 137FBB.

Regulation 3 provides that adjustments made to the value of a member’s benefits in the course of calculating the surrender value of those benefits, or adjustments to the means by which that value is calculated, are not charges for the purpose of section 137FBB providing at least one of the four conditions in paragraph (2) and the condition in paragraph (3) of regulation 3 are met. Regulation 4 provides that where a member has acquired a reasonable expectation that they are entitled to the value of certain benefits at the point of surrender, such as might arise in certain circumstances in relation to some types of bonus, an adjustment to that value which is an early exit charge (as defined in section 137FBB) is to be treated as such, and regulation 3 does not apply.

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector has not been prepared. However, an assessment of the impact of the policy of prohibiting early exit pension charges in certain circumstances, incorporating the impact of excluding the charges specified in this instrument, on the costs to business and the voluntary sector was published in the course of Parliament considering the Bank of England and Financial Services Bill. A copy of this impact assessment is available in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Copies may also be obtained from the Better Regulation Unit of the Her Majesty’s Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.