Compliance Statements to CMA due by 7 January 2021

In December 2019, obligations under the Investment Consultancy and Fiduciary Management Market Investigation Order 2019 (the Order) of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) came into force requiring pension scheme trustees (with limited exceptions) to set strategic objectives for investment consultants and take steps in relation to competitive tenders for fiduciary managers. For more detail, please see our July 2019 Pensions Snapshot.

Compliance Statement deadline

By 7 January 2021, trustees will need to submit a statement to the CMA confirming that they have complied with the requirements under the Order which are relevant to their scheme.

The Order requires compliance statements to be submitted annually thereafter.

The DWP has consulted on draft regulations which would bring the requirements of the Order into pensions law. The regulations would provide for the Pensions Regulator to oversee compliance by pension scheme trustees and make the annual statement part of the scheme return process. These regulations may be brought into force during 2021, but not before the 7 January 2021 deadline.