SPSS today posted another five new Pensions Updates on its website.

Pensions Update No 123 amends Part 11 of the PP Guidance Notes (IR 76 ) on the investment conditions for SIPPs. This is based on the Personal Pension Schemes (Restriction on Discretion to Approve) (Permitted Investments) Regulations 2001 SI 2001/117, better known as the SIPP Regs.

Pensions Update No 124 finally replaces the long-outdated Appendix VIII of IR 12, the maximum funding rules for fully insured money purchase schemes. It updates the ABI 1996 Method, authorised by the Revenue and currently in use by the majority of providers. It expands the guidance on “Current Valuation of Existing Assets (V)”. The “Method of Calculation” now incorporates “Factor 5”, to cover pension sharing on divorce, as introduced in Update No 84. It is not expected that this Update will require significant modifications to the Maximum Funding calculations in APS, but the Aries Team is already examining it closely. The maximum funding basis for SSASs (Appendix IX to IR 12) is to be aligned with the Update No 124 rules in the near future.

Pensions Update No 125 covers necessary revisions to IR 12 in connection with concurrency (in particular, PN 7.25), reflecting similar guidance already published in IR 76. Personal pension benefits arising from contributions paid during a period of eligibility to contribute under s.632B (concurrency) are neither aggregable nor retained benefits.

Pensions Update No 126 is about annuity purchase under SSAS rules. With immediate effect*, SPSS will allow annuities to be purchased from life offices in the name of the member (or in the case of a spouse’s or dependant’s pension, the beneficiary), as an alternative to the existing restriction that such annuities must be bought in the name of the trustees.

* PN 20.38 was in fact amended on 7 February 2002 to cover this, although the change was neither announced nor highlighted on the website at the time. Aries reported this apparent oversight to SPSS on 13 February.