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| 10 December | Simplification: Inland Revenue publishes second consultation document (consultation period closed 5 March 2004). In Pre-Budget Speech, Chancellor announces National Audit Office will check Government's figures for the operation of the Lifetime Allowance. more |
| 4 December | Venables early retirement case determined in House of Lords: Revenue loses. more |
| 28 November | Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order 2003 (SI 2003/3002) laid; in force 1/1/04. more |
| 24 November | Pensions Update 145 confirms that henceforth all updates, forms and Revenue guidance will be published only on the Web. more |
| 31 October | DWP consults on how UK should implement EC Pensions Directive (consultation period closed 23 December 2003). more |
| 28 October | Government Actuary's Dept publishes 5-yearly review of National Insurance Fund. more |
| 22 October | Opra gives whistleblowers the green light: "traffic light" reporting guidelines introduced as part of new risk-based approach to reporting. more |
| 17 October | DWP announces (after limited consultation on 3 options for dealing with GMPs) that contracted-out occupational pension schemes are to be given the option to convert GMPs into their own scheme benefits, on the basis of actuarial equivalence. Legislation is awaited. more |
| 16 October | September RPI figure (182.5) determines Earnings Cap for 2004/05 will be £102,000. more |
| 6 October | State Pension Credit comes into effect |
| 23 September | EC Pensions (IORP) Directive 2003/41/EC published: must be implemented in all EU Member States before 23 September 2005. more |
| 18 August | Opra issue new guidance for trustees: Winding up (update 3). more |
| 4 August | Coinciding with the new regs on transfer values coming into force, Opra withdraws (Update 2), with immediate effect, its relaxed stance in relation to compliance described last February in Update 1. more |
| 25 July | DWP launches consultation on amendments to the law governing claims from part-time workers for backdated access to occupational pension schemes (consultation period closed 15 October 2003). more |
| 14 July | Transfer Value Amendment Regs (SI 2003/1727) laid; in force 4.8.03. more |
| 17 June | Malcolm Wicks appointed Minister of State for Pensions. |
| 11 June | DWP publishes ‘action plan’ after consultation on Green Paper; also consults on draft amendments to Winding Up and Deficiency on Winding Up Regs, with intention to bring into force retrospective to 11 June. Actuarial profession issues substantially revised GN 9 (EXD 51) on pension scheme valuation reports. more |
| 04 June | Opra publishes new guide for trustees of insured schemes, ‘Record keeping for your pension scheme’. |
| 13 May | Council of the EU adopts Pension Funds Directive 2003/41/EC (publication in the Official Journal awaited). |
| 17 April | Opra consults on revised Note 1 which provides more guidance to scheme actuaries and auditors on what is "materially significant" to report more |
| 11 April | Deadline for comments on Inland Revenue Simplification proposals. more |
| 9 April | Chancellor’s Budget Speech. more |
| 6 April | Statutory Illustrations of Money Purchase benefits must be provided annually to members members within 12 months of next scheme anniversary (3 months if stakeholder). |
| | Amendments to Social Security Contributions Regs in force (implementing the extra 1% across the board); primary threshold unchanged at £89 pw. more |
| 28 March | Deadline for comments on DWP consultations: |
| | (1) Green Paper more |
| | (2) Draft amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) Regulations (SI 1996/1847) more |
| | (3) Future treatment of GMPs (abolition? actuarial conversion? buy-back into state scheme?) more |
| 27 March | IR SPSS publishes new edition of PP Integrated Model Rules. more |
| | On the same day, the Earnings Cap for 2003/04 was formally confirmed as £99,000. |
| 17 March | Pensions Updates 138, 139, 140 & 141 extensively amend Practice Notes (IR 12) and PP Guidance Notes (IR 76). more |
| 12 March 2003 | Revaluation of Earnings Factors (s.148) Order laid. more |
| 11 March | IR SPSS updates SSAS maximum funding rules. more |
| 5 March | GMP Increase Order published. more |
| 27 February | Pensions Minister Ian McCartney freezes General Levy rate on occupational and personal pension schemes for 2003/04; no Compensation Levy. more |
| 21 February | Low Earnings Threshold (LET) "for tax years following 2002-03" set at £11,200. more |
| 14 February | Opra announces temporary permission for trustees to delay issuing "statements of entitlement" (ie transfer value quotations) in certain conditions. more |
| 7 February | IR SPSS announces paper publication of Pensions Updates will cease from 30 November 2003. more |
| 5 February | Treasury issues post-Sandler consultation paper on proposed specifications for "stakeholder" products. more |
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