§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of occupational pensions that are in independent trusteeship. [73133]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe information is not collected. Independent trustees can be appointed to pension schemes for a wide variety of reasons to on-going schemes and those where a sponsoring employer has become insolvent.
On 1 April 2002, we introduced regulations to help speed up the process of winding-up pension schemes and to increase the accountability of those involved in running schemes. Specifically, the measures include a requirement for; trustees to report to Opra within one month of their becoming aware that the scheme does not have an independent trustee; and the Insolvency Practitioner or Official Receiver to appoint an independent trustee within 3 months of becoming aware of the need for one.