The General Code of Practice (“the Code”) came into force today, 28 March 2024. It sets out the Pensions Regulator’s (“the Regulator’s”) expectations of the “conduct and practice governing bodies should meet to comply with their duties in pensions legislation”.
The Code has combined 10 existing codes of practice into one set, as shown in the following table. The existing codes of practice which now fall under the Code have been erased in their entirety.
The Code is split into 51 smaller modules and sets out, among other things, what issues should be considered by trustees of pension schemes when completing their Effective System of Governance (ESOG). In addition to having an ESOG in place, schemes with 100 members or more must carry out and document their Own Risk Assessment (ORA) as part of the ESOG.
Further information on the ESOG and ORA, and how the Code applies to different schemes, are in our previous article.
Summary of Recommended Actions
The code explains that the Regulator will permit some flexibility as it acknowledges that each scheme is different, and an element of proportionality may be used when assessing the governance needs of each scheme. If you have any questions on how to identify the areas which need to be improved upon to ensure compliance with the Code, please contact us to discuss this in more detail.