The DWP has laid a massive (76 pp) new set of regulations (The Pension Protection Fund (Multi-employer Schemes) (Modification) Regulations 2005 (SI2005/441)), detailing how the PPF rules will apply to multi-employer schemes. This SI has been made without public consultation.

The regs are voluminous because multi-employer schemes can be structured in many different ways. Some are segregated, so that contributions paid are allocated to the particular employer or member's section, and a specified part of the assets is attributable to each section and cannot be used for the purposes of any other section. A segregated scheme might have single employer sections, or multi-employer sections - a different type. Alternatively, a multi-employer scheme might be non-segregated. Then there might or might not be a requirement for partial wind-up on withdrawal of a participating employer. The upshot is that seven different cases are recognised and dealt with separately in this SI.