On the go: The Pensions Regulator has fined professional trustee company Link Pension Trustees, a total of £103,750 for breaching multiple areas of pension law. This is the largest ever fine handed to trustees by the watchdog.
The corporate trustee firm was fined £73,750 in relation to failings on the McDonald’s Franchisee Pension Scheme, which provides pensions for 32 franchisees of the fast food chain, but is independent of McDonald’s. The scheme has 148 members, of which seven are active and 141 are deferred.
The fine by the regulator’s independent determinations panel includes £25,000 for failing to secure compliance with the requirement to obtain audited accounts for the scheme, for each of the years ending April 5 2014-17.
It also includes £18,750 for failing to provide members with statutory money purchase illustrations for the scheme in 2015 and 2016, and £30,000 for failing to report breaches of law to the watchdog as soon as reasonably practicable.
In a separate action arising from the same investigation the trustee of the master trust scheme was also fined £30,000 for failing to have at least three trustees on a master trust board.
The failings became apparent when TPR contacted the scheme on April 28 2017 about master trust authorisation.
The trustee has resolved the breaches, paid the penalty and the scheme has triggered its exit from the master trust market.
In its ruling the IDP stated that “the panel would have expected better of a corporate professional trustee”.
It is the first time TPR has used enforcement powers for failure to provide members with SMPIs, failure to report breaches of law to TPR, and failure to have three trustees on a master trust.
Nicola Parish, executive director of frontline regulation at the regulator, said: “This case highlights how working more closely with master trusts as part of authorisation and supervision will expose any areas where the law is being broken and enable TPR to take action.”
