Bulk transfer of contracted out pension rights without member consent: draft regulations

This consultation seeks views on the Contracting-out (Transfer and Transfer Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. The regulations enable bulk transfers of contracted-out rights to take place in certain circumstances without member consent, to schemes that have never been contracted out. Conditions of the transfer will be that:

• the rights of the member are not adversely affected
• the same protections must be provided by the new scheme

This consultation follows our response to our April 2017 consultation on the Contracting-out (Transfer and Transfer Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

The consultation is mainly aimed at:

• pension administrators and employers who sponsor formerly contracted-out defined benefit occupational pension schemes
• those intending to establish new defined benefit schemes

We also welcome comments from:

• the pension industry
• pension schemes trustees and members
• member representative organisations
• any other interested organisations