Welcome to The Guide for Pension Trustees Online, a practical and reliable
service for trustees, scheme managers and those responsible for pensions
at companies.
GPT Online is the electronic version, with extra features, of the established
loose-leaf print publication The Guide for Pension Trustees, published by NTC Publications
Ltd, a limited liability company registered in England and Wales under Registration
No. 1854583. Registered Office: Farm Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1EJ,
United Kingdom. Full content of this online version is available only to subscribers
of the print version.
How to Subscribe
GPT Online provides the essential, impartial and practical pensions knowledge
that trustees and managers working in pensions require to perform their
role accurately, efficiently and in compliance with the law. It helps
trustees and companies deal with day-to-day and practical procedures,
run an efficient operation and keep their schemes safe. That means risk
of non-compliance will be minimised, making it unlikely that you will
suffer the penalties that can and do arise from factors such as ignorance
of correct procedures, carelessness or negligence that put many schemes
in jeopardy.
GPT Online is a fast fact-finder, training resource and ready-reference
working tool. No prior knowledge is assumed. It is designed to provide
a solid grounding in essential pensions knowledge that will boost confidence
and lessen risk. It fully covers the syllabus for the Pensions Management
Institute (PMI) Awards in Pension Trusteeship and the requirement for
Trustee Knowledge and Understanding. GPT Online is
also a valuable study resource for those studying for the Financial Adviser's Certificate in pensions and the CII Pensions Simplification examination (CF9).
Content of GPT Online
GPT Online covers a wide range of pension subjects – see the contents
listing at the left-hand side of your screen. Technical coverage
is comprehensive, yet each section is designed to be easy and quick to
assimilate. The starting point for GPT Online is the presumption that
the majority (if not all) of the subjects it covers will almost certainly
be included in any statutory training requirement. The starting point
for training is that legislation requires trustees to be conversant with
the issues covering all their responsibilities (akin to a new
statutory duty relating to care).
New and revised material is constantly added to the site, in order to
ensure the information remains current and correct in the light of new
developments, changes in the legal requirements, and evolving best practice.
Format
The content of GPT Online is divided into sections that each addresses
a major pensions subject. It closely follows the syllabus
of the examination for the PMI’s Trustee Certificate of Essential
Pensions Knowledge/Awards in Pension Trusteeship,
covering all the points in the syllabus and also those in the Pensions Regulator's
Indicative Syllabus for Trustee Knowledge and Understanding. There are Appendices that include specimen Trustees’
Minutes, sample Trustee selection procedures, and helpful checklists showing where each point in the PMI's Awards syllabus and the Regulator's Indicative
Syllabus is covered in the Guide. The Pensions Act 2004 and the latest Finance Acts, and the requirements and implications of the new pensions regime, are all covered, as are the Codes of Practice issued by the Pensions Regulator along with tips arising.
The day-to-day operational information contained in GPT Online is the
sort individual trustees and managers need to know in the wider context
to keep their schemes safe from harm. Because GPT Online contains ‘tried
and tested’ material already appreciated by many trustees and pension
managers at the largest corporations ranging through to smaller operations,
you can rely upon it as an invaluable learning resource and reference
tool.
To help with practical issues, the main content sections end with points for action that may need to be taken – Some Do's and Don’ts. Also
included are practical suggestions on a variety of subjects including:
the duties of the pension scheme secretary, administrator and company
personnel; a business plan for trustees' annual meetings; specimen minutes
from mock trustee meetings, material covering the selection of trustees,
and checklists to ensure compliance. Throughout, you will find extracts
taken from the Pensions Ombudsman’s rulings, guidance notes issued by
HMRC and other statutory bodies, reports and papers issued by the major
professional bodies and case studies taken from the Pension Ombudsman’s
guidance.
Further practical material is constantly being added as the GPT Online
service develops in response to user requirements.
GPT Online is both a fast fact-finder and an essential reference library
First, find the subject you are looking for by clicking the relevant
section in the Contents listing displayed permanently on the left-hand
side of your screen. Or, use the Search function. Topic coverage has been designed to contain the shortest of paragraphs,
and single-sentence facts are deliberately provided. You can expect to
find the essential information you need on a single subject very rapidly
by using the Contents or Search facilities. GPT Online is easy
to navigate and links take you instantly to useful references throughout
the site and also to authoritative external sources of information.
The numbered paragraphs in each section supply the main information.
Notes that supplement or qualify the detail appear in blue text under
the paragraph to which they refer. You will
find further information in the User Guide.
Who will benefit most from GPT Online?
Pension managers If you are looking for a single, reliable
source of user-friendly material for your own reference and for your trustees,
GPT Online and its companion loose-leaf publication provide the solution.
The service is kept up-to-date throughout the year. It provides sound
guidance on practical matters, and saves you the task of searching for
current training and reading material for trustees.
Individual trustees Whether you are member-nominated
or company-appointed, GPT Online is an easy-to-understand, reliable learning
and reference source that takes you straight to the information you require
to do your job. It will help you ensure correct procedures and compliance
in order to safeguard yourself and your scheme.
If you have responsibility for pensions at your company,
GPT Online provides a straightforward, factual guide to help you understand
and manage your pension responsibilities. Should you also have a
union role to play in your company, your members will also expect
you to have a basic understanding of pension matters.
If you are an employer, GPT Online will provide you
with, for example, rapid briefing on scheme-specific funding requirements,
reporting pension costs in company accounts, Stakeholder Pensions, selection
of trustees, role of the employer and powers under the rules.
Finally, if you are sitting pension examinations, GPT
Online will be invaluable to you as an essential fact-finder, reference
source and revision aid.
For all subscribers, the clear, practical advice contained in GPT Online
is specially designed to help you achieve your objectives and make the
burden of responsibility in the complex world of pensions easier to manage.
Sources
The sources of information for confirming the accuracy of GPT Online’s
content are wide, and include material issued to students, associates
and fellows of the PMI, plus topical papers issued to PMI Trustee User
Groups.
The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Practice Notes and Updates are
used to confirm certain technical information.
Rulings of the Pensions Ombudsman continue to be featured in the site. Also
used in the site’s content are (1) guidance notes issued by HMRC and other statutory bodies, in particular the Pensions
Regulator; (2) the Pensions Ombudsman's data bank of past decisions
published in the Ombudsman's document How to avoid the Pensions
Ombudsman, (3)
reports and papers issued
by the Accounting Standards Board, the Institute of Actuaries, the Association
of Pension Lawyers, (4) certain detail on the contents of the trustees' annual report and accounts has been taken from Financial Reports of Pension Schemes: A statement of Recommended Practice (revised May 2007), issued by Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) and (5) documents issued by many other such professional
bodies.
The widest possible reference material is utilised to confirm the appropriateness
of GPT Online’s contents. Fundamental to the spirit of GPT Online
is without doubt users’ comments, which help its content and relevance
to be constantly improved.
Who is responsible for GPT Online?
GPT Online is a product of NTC Publications Ltd, based
in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Contact Us
For details of other NTC products in related areas, click
here
The Chief Editor is Paul A. Larner FPMI, Managing Director of Aldergate Trustee Services
Ltd pal.comberford@virgin.net
Paul acts as pension scheme secretary to four occupational pension schemes
and is also a fund signatory. He has considerable experience as an independent
trustee and is an end-user of pension scheme documentation and has a wealth of
practical trusteeship experience. He was formerly GKN Plc Pension Scheme
Secretary, and is Secretary to the Smith & Nephew UK Pension Fund.
He has worked in the pensions field for 27 years and is a Fellow of the
Pensions Management Institute. Paul is also the holder of the Personal Pensions Executive Certificate (PPEC), the Trustee Certificate of Essential Pensions Knowledge, the Retirement Provision Certificate (RPC), the Financial Advisers Certificate in Pensions Knowledge, and has attained CF9 (tax simplification) accreditation.
You can be confident that GPT Online provides expert, informed
and impartial advice.
How to Subscribe
GPT Online offers you authoritative and dependable coverage of the latest
developments in pensions, new legislation, regulations and procedures,
together with practical guidance on doing the job – the essential
information you need to run your scheme efficiently, safely, according
to best practice and ensuring legal compliance.
For details of how to subscribe to GPT Online and the accompanying printed
loose-leaf publication, click here
The Future
GPT Online continues to develop in response to users’ requirements
and the constantly changing world of pensions. Users’ comments are
welcomed. Please let us have your own – tell us via Your Comments.
They will help us to continue to develop GPT Online and ensure it fully
meets your practical needs.
Thank you for visiting GPT Online. We hope your visit has been informative
and we look forward to welcoming you back.
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