Modification of rules of existing schemes

On 12 December 2006, we announced that the Government proposed to lay a Statutory Instrument to deal with the difficulty faced by those schemes whose rules contain a condition that no alteration to the rules may be made unless “approved” by HM Revenue & Customs. Please see the Draft regulations (PDF 26K). These will insert new provisions into the regulations dealing with modification of the rules of existing schemes, providing an over-ride to any provision in scheme rules that makes alteration of those rules subject to HMRC approval. These draft regulations apply to former approved schemes, including both occupational schemes and personal pension schemes. The current intention is that the regulations will be laid so as to come into effect from June 2007.