The Government is aware that following last year’s Court of Appeal judgment in Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pension Trustees Limited, there is increased uncertainty in the pensions industry. We recognise that schemes and sponsoring employers need clarity around scheme liabilities and member benefit levels in order to plan for the future. 

The Government will therefore introduce legislation to give affected pension schemes the ability to retrospectively obtain written actuarial confirmation that historic benefit changes met the necessary standards.

Scheme obligations will otherwise be unaffected and the Government will continue to maintain its robust framework for the funding of defined benefit pension schemes in order to protect people’s hard-earned pensions.