Published: 5 March 2024
Closing date: 16 April 2024
Interim response date: 23 September 2024
A consultation on the statement of strategy that trustees will need to submit as part of planning and managing their defined benefit scheme funding.
Response
Illustrative statement of strategy templates
- Fast Track before the relevant date
- Fast Track on or after the relevant date
- Bespoke before the relevant date
- Bespoke on or after the relevant date
Data guidance
Consultation response
Summary
The statement of strategy forms part of a package of legislative and regulatory measures designed to improve the security and sustainability of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.
In this consultation, we are seeking views from trustees and advisers on our proposed approach to the statement of strategy, including the proposed form of the document, and the type and extent of the information that will need to be submitted.
We want to understand whether:
- this proposed approach raises any challenges or unintended consequences
- the proposed statement of strategy template is clear and fit-for-purpose
- there are any issues with trustees providing the supplementary information proposed to be included in the statement of strategy
We want to know if our proposed approach works for you. This is important, as failure to submit the statement of strategy in a form as set out by us will be a breach of the law.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Consultation documents
Statement of strategy consultation document
Example statement of strategy
We’ve chosen to represent a scheme that hasn’t yet reached its relevant date, is not Fast Track compliant and, therefore, needs to submit via the Bespoke valuation route.
A scheme’s relevant date is the date set out in the actuarial valuation to which the funding and investment strategy (FIS) relates as the actuary's estimate of the date on which the scheme is expected to (or, if applicable, did) reach significant maturity.
The characteristics of this scheme’s FIS have been chosen to represent what we think is an acceptable overall strategy. It utilises approaches from our experience that we think schemes are likely to take. Our scheme uses a contingent asset to mitigate risk where affordability constraints result in a recovery plan longer than an employer’s reliability period.
The purpose of the example is to demonstrate what the statement of strategy template might look like, having been populated with the data submitted to us for the scheme’s FIS and Supplementary Matters.