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Pensions Regulator announces changes to the DC scheme return for 2024
The Regulator has issued an online announcement about upcoming changes to its DC scheme return.
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Canada | Publication | January 4, 2024
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has published its proxy voting policy updates for the 2024 proxy season (the ISS Updates). The ISS Updates follow the release of Glass Lewis’s 2024 benchmark policy guidelines in November 2023 (the GL Updates). The ISS Updates apply to meetings held on or after February 1, 2024.
The updates mainly focus on voting recommendations that address the goal of greater board diversity. Changes have also been made to voting recommendations for executive compensation plan proposals. The changes are as follows:
The new guideline reflects a similar policy in place in the US since 2021. The formalized guidance is more lenient than originally proposed as it now provides issuers that have no racially or ethnically diverse directors the ability to not be off-side the recommendation if they publicly announce their intention to diversify. The ISS Updates follow the 2020 amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act that broadened disclosure of board diversity beyond gender. The Canadian securities regulators are currently considering enhanced disclosure of board diversity.
The GL Updates are broader than the ISS Updates and introduce key amendments, including board oversight of climate-related disclosure, human capital management and cyber risk. In addition, the GL Updates address board composition and governance issues, including conflicts of interest of interlocking directors and increased expectations of audit committee members. A full description of these changes can be found in our earlier update Glass Lewis publishes 2024 proxy season updates.
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The Regulator has issued an online announcement about upcoming changes to its DC scheme return.
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On July 30, 2024, the Regulator published its market oversight report on how trustees are complying with their environmental, social and governance (ESG) duties, including in respect of climate change.
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We reported last month that the Court of Appeal had agreed with the High Court’s previous judgment that all rule amendments to contracted-out DB schemes between 1997 and 2013 require written actuarial certification. Three pensions professional bodies have now issued a joint statement on the effect of the ruling.
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