The Pension Schemes Bill has passed in the House of Lords and is now set to receive Royal Assent. Now, various measures impacting both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes will, in due course (and in some cases immediately), become law.
There are new rules around surplus extraction as well as a permanent regime for the superfund market which could impact the DB pension de-risking market going forward.
“The passing of the Bill is the first step in establishing the legal framework applicable to the authorisation and supervision of DB superfunds, to replace TPR’s interim regime,” said Laura Amin, Partner and Head of DB Consolidation at Lane Clark & Peacock.
“Combined with the growing momentum in the superfund market, with Clara having announced its fifth deal just last week, I expect this will give investors confidence and pave the way for further new providers to enter the market and will also give pension scheme trustees and sponsors the confidence that DB superfunds are a robust model to which to entrust their members’ pensions. The Bill also provides for the simplification of the gateway tests for schemes to transfer to superfunds and we expect this will open up the market of schemes considering DB superfund transfers from current levels. So, the supply and demand side factors are lining up for 2026 to be a pivotal year for the superfund market.”
