Bridon (2013) Pension Scheme

We would like to inform you about an important change to the structure of the Trustee Board of the Scheme that will take effect from 1 January 2023.

As you are probably aware, the Scheme is currently governed by a board made up of five Trustee Directors who have, over the years, worked extremely hard on your behalf, to mitigate the risks to the Scheme and ensure that members receive the benefits to which they are entitled.  This has led to a de-risking of the Scheme’s investment strategy and an improvement in the Scheme’s funding position.

Recent increasing burdens in terms of both regulatory and legislative complexity have acted as a catalyst and, in collaboration with the current Trustee Directors, Bridon has decided to replace the current Trustee Board with Capital Cranfield Pension Trustees Limited (“Capital Cranfield”), which will now act as a professional corporate sole trustee company for the Scheme.  

Capital Cranfield will collaborate with a newly formed Member Engagement Group (“MEG”), updating it on the Scheme’s activities and sharing views on member issues.  The retiring Member Nominated Trustee Directors have kindly agreed to form the initial members of the MEG.

Capital Cranfield has over 85 sole trustee appointments and is one of the leaders in this market.  It takes a team-based approach to managing pension plans and the team responsible for the Scheme will be Susan Anyan and Ryan Ellett who, between them, have over 50 years of combined experience in pensions.  They currently work with a number of other pension schemes and are supported by an internal governance team.  Susan is already very familiar with the Scheme as she has represented Capital Cranfield as the professional trustee Chair of the Trustee Board since 2018.  

We have attached a questions and answers document, which includes more detail about moving to the sole trustee basis. If, however, you have any questions that are not answered, please contact us at bridonpensions@aon.com or on 0345 268 8476.

Finally, Bridon would like to formally thank the outgoing Trustee Board members and their predecessors for the work and commitment they have put into running the Scheme.”

Following notification by Gareth Cook of his departure from the business, Gareth has also stood down as a Company Nominated Trustee Director. Jenny Nightingale-Newton will replace Gareth as Company Nominated Trustee Director on the Trustee board.

In February 2021, we wrote to all members to report that there were two vacancies for Member-nominated Directors in the Scheme, and invited members to apply for the positions.

Following the completion of the exercise, we are pleased to announce that both vacancies have been filled, as follows:

• Gary Peters has been reappointed to the board and his new term of office will last until 13 May 2024
• Chris Finlay has been appointed to the board and his term of office will last until 13 May 2024

It's important to be aware that while the majority of financial advisers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (https://register.fca.org.uk) and pension arrangements are registered, however this is not always the case. There is a heightened risk that scammers and unscrupulous financial advisers will try to take advantage of the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation by targeting pension scheme members.

Your pension benefits are valuable assets. Like anything valuable, your benefits can become the target for scammers.

Pension scams can take many different forms, but broadly take the form of members being persuaded to transfer their pension benefits out of a scheme to allow access to their funds.

Some schemes will be unlawful and others may operate within the law, but members and schemes could face unauthorised tax charges.

Pension scammers may:

• Try to obtain personal information about you (either illegally or by convincing you to provide the information).
• Apply pressure for you to make a quick decision.
• Make claims that seem “too good to be true”.
• May try to flatter you in to making a bad decision.
• May downplay the risk associated with the decision.

You can find out more about pension scams at www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart.

How can I protect myself from a pension scam?

To avoid being the victim of a scam there are several steps you can take:

• Use the Financial Services Register and Warning List (https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/warning-list) to check who you are dealing with.
• Beware of adverts on social media channels and paid for/sponsored adverts online.
• Do not click links or open emails from senders you don't already know.
• Avoid being rushed or pressured into making a decision. If a firm calls you unexpectedly, then use the contact details on the Register to check that you’re dealing with the genuine firm.
• Do not give out personal details (bank details, address, existing insurance/pensions/investment details). We strongly recommend reading the Pension Regulator's guidance on pension scams, which you can find at: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/pension-scams
• If you are asked to transfer your pension elsewhere, we recommend exercising caution and visiting ScamSmart (www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart) which has specific guidance relating to COVID-19.
• If you are approaching retirement then the Money and Pensions Service (https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk) is also a useful resource.

Remember that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

In February 2019 we reported that there were two vacancies for Member-nominated Directors in the Scheme. Glendon Dallard has been reappointed to the board unopposed and his new term of office will last until 31 March 2022.  A vacancy remains for the other Member-nominated Director position.

In May 2018 we reported that there were two vacancies for Member-nominated Directors in the Scheme. Gary Peters has been reappointed to the board unopposed and his new term of office will last until 31 March 2021.  A vacancy remains for the other Member-nominated Director position.

Following notification by Michael Duncombe (the Chair of the Trustee Board) of his intention to retire from this post in 2019, the Company has undertaken a review of the composition and structure of the current Trustee Board (Bridon Scheme Trustees Limited).  It has been decided that Miss Susan Anyan of Capital Cranfield Pension Trustees Limited is to be appointed as a Company Nominated Director with Michael Duncombe (Independent Chair), Edward Rutter (Independent Trustee) and Jane Henley (Company Nominated Trustee) stepping down from the Trustee Board. 

The Government announced its intention to follow the recommendation John Cridland made in his independent review to increase the State Pension Age for those born between 1970 and 1978 from 67 to 68 in 2037-39.  The exact date that you get your state pension will depend on your date of birth.  You can work this out using the state pension calculator.

One of the benefits offered by your pension is the ability, under the Bridon Scheme Rules, to pay a lump sum in the event that you die while you are a deferred member or in your first five years of retirement.

Completing an Expression of Wish form helps the Trustee decide who you would like to pass any lump sum due on to after your death, so it is important for you to regularly review your wishes and send us your latest Expression of Wish form.

The form is used to tell the Trustee who you would like to receive the payment. One reason for disregarding an Expression of Wish may be where the Trustee is aware that your circumstances have changed, and you have not completed a new Expression of Wish Form to reflect this, for example where you have married/registered a civil partnership, or have divorced.  The Trustee might also take account of any subsequent will you have written. Also, Court Orders can affect death benefit payments. Because of this discretion, any lump sum paid will not normally be included in your estate for inheritance tax purposes.

For the reasons above, the Trustee is not bound by law to follow your wishes, but it will usually act on them unless there is good reason to do otherwise. The form also helps the Trustee to make a relatively quick decision at what would be a time of great distress for your family.

 The Expression of Wish form can be found on the Member Forms page. You should return your completed form to the Bridon Scheme administration team at Aon.

In April 2017 we reported that there was a vacancy for a Member-nominated Director in the Scheme. Ken Mallin has been reappointed to the board unopposed and his new term of office will last until 31 March 2020.

The Finance Act 2017 received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017. The pensions-related measures in the Act are limited to changes to the tax treatment of overseas pensions:

Overseas transfer charge

A new 25% tax charge on transfers to Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) is introduced. This will apply to transfers requested after 8 March, unless the transferring member is exempted.  The main exemptions from this new “overseas transfer charge” are that it will not apply if during the 5 years following the transfer:

• Both the individual and the QROPS are in the same country (or both are within the European Economic Area); or
• The QROPS is an occupational pension scheme sponsored by the individual's employer.

Unless a member has provided information showing that the exemption applies at the time of transfer, the administrator (of the scheme paying the transfer) will automatically deduct the 25% charge. The charge can be applied retrospectively if at some point in the five years following transfer the individual’s circumstances change and the exemptions no longer apply; conversely, a tax charge paid at the time of the transfer can be refunded if one or more of the conditions are met within the next five years.

Taxation of benefits from overseas schemes

The changes bring the taxation of benefits from overseas schemes more into line with the taxation of benefits from UK registered schemes from 6 April 2017:

• for contributions on or after that date the member payment charges regime applys to members who have been resident in the UK at any time in the previous 10 tax years (currently a 5 year rule applies);
• tax is now charged on all of the overseas pension payable to a UK resident (compared to 90% previously); and
• the taxation of lump sums paid from overseas schemes is tightened up. 

Non-UK registered schemes

From 6 April 2017 non-UK registered pension schemes will be subject to the normal taxation provisions that apply to UK registered schemes but usually only to the extent of their UK-relieved funds. 

The lifetime allowance for most people is £1m in the tax year 2017/18. It applies to the total of all the pensions you have, including the value of pensions promised through any defined benefit schemes you belong to, but excluding your State Pension.  From 6 April 2018 the government intends to index the standard lifetime allowance annually in line with CPI.

In March, John Cridland CBE, former CBI director general, published his independent review of State Pension Age (SPA). This included the following recommendations:

• SPA should rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039;
• SPA should not increase by more than one year in any ten year period, assuming that there are no exceptional changes to the data used;
• All employers should have eldercare (as opposed to childcare) policies in place which set out a basic care offer; and
• People should be able to access a mid-life career MOT and review, which should be facilitated by employers and by the government using online support and through the National Careers Service.

The Government will consider the recommendations and respond. It was due to respond by May 2017 but this has been delayed until after the General Election. 

The Pensions Regulator releases new resources

The Pensions Regulator has released new resources in its scorpion campaign to prevent pension scams. These include videos for savers alerting them to typical scammer tactics, an online scam-spotting tool and a checklist for trustees to help them work through the due diligence they have to fulfil when considering transfer requests. Andrew Warwick-Thompson, Executive Director for regulatory policy at the Regulator, has also published a blog on scams in which he welcomes the Government's consultation on preventative measures; the Government has announced that it will respond to its consultation later in the spring.

Tips on how to protect yourself can be found on the Pension Regulators website https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pension-scams.aspx

The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) online guidance

TPAS has launched a new online tool for members, on pension scams. TPAS describe this as a "self-service option giving information and guidance" and say that they want to provide the industry with a tool to which they can direct their savers. The tool includes a reminder that members can check to see if a firm or an adviser is regulated by visiting the Financial Conduct Authorities’ register.

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension-problems/making-a-complaint/common-concerns/pension-scams