Regulation 12 of the Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations (SI 2000/1403) requires scheme managers to make an annual declaration that the scheme has complied with the requirements of the Regs. This involves preparing a detailed statement, which has to be formally validated within 3 months by the 'reporting accountant'. Both statements then have to be made available to members and beneficiaries on request. gathering and preparing all this information involves a lot of work, and the DWP is looking again at whether it's all really necessary.

To give this time, meanwhile with effect from 4 July 2002 Reg 12 has been amended (SI 2002/1480), so that all schemes registered before 1 October 2001 have until 31 December 2002 to finalise their first annual declaration and also the reporting accountant's statement.

However unless the Regs are further amended, these schemes will have less than a year before their second declaration falls due. In the case of a scheme which registered before the official 'launch day' for stakeholder pensions (ie 6 April 2001), the deadline for this will be 5 July 2003, with subsequent declarations falling due at annual intervals and reporting accountant's statements due no more than 3 months after the declaration date.

In all other cases, the declaration must be made within 3 months of the anniversary of registration date. For example if a scheme registered on 1 August 2001 its second declaration will be due by 31 October 2003 (ie 10 months after the deadline for the first). A scheme registered on 1 December 2001 must make its first declaration by 28 February 2003 and the second by 28 February 2004. The reporting accountant's statement is always due 3 months after the declaration date.