Pensions Regulator updates DB superfunds guidance and highlights expectations about release of capital

The Regulator has updated its DB superfunds guidance, including the position on capital release, clarification on certain investment principles and additional detail around capital-backed arrangements and insolvency circumstances.  

On capital release, the revised guidance follows industry feedback and will allow capital to be released twice a year if certain trigger and safeguard requirements are met. These include a capital release funding test, with a limit of two releases per year, which should not significantly alter the scheme's investment risk profile. Trustees will be expected to provide a pre-release notification to the Regulator.  

The previous version of the guidance stated that upon a transfer of a new scheme to the superfund, fresh capital needed to be provided at a level which, together with value obtained through the transaction, would satisfy capital requirements if that scheme was considered in isolation. This "standalone principle" has been removed from the new guidance, provided the superfund in total is funded above the level at which capital might be released.  

Finally, the Regulator's press release of July 26, 2024, indicates that, subject to the trustees' consideration of the members' best interests, the standard capital adequacy requirements "may now be relaxed" where a scheme's sponsoring employer becomes insolvent and the scheme is unable to afford the buyout of full benefits, or to enter a superfund or capital-backed arrangement on full capital adequacy terms.

Comment

The Regulator’s update has been welcomed as an important step forward for the superfund model.

The Regulator has taken on board representations in relation to capital release, and the new guidance is seen as a strong indication that it supports a wide range of suitable endgames for schemes. The Regulator has demonstrated that it is also committed to embracing innovation, even though the protection of members' benefits remains one of its key objectives.