Commenting on the release today of the long-awaited guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions, David Everett, Research Partner at LCP said:

“GMP conversion has a lot of potential, enabling schemes to remove inequalities and simplify benefits.

This guidance is a useful first step to assist trustees and their advisers who may be thinking of using the GMP conversion legislation to resolve the GMP inequality issue brought into focus by last year’s High Court judgment involving the Lloyds Banking Group.  However, more needs to be done, by both the DWP, HMRC and the Courts before much needed clarity is achieved on how to operate this approach in practice.”

I welcome the fact that this guidance is acknowledged to be a first edition, with the likelihood of it being updated as clarity is achieved on a number of important points.  Perhaps the true significance of this document in its present form is that it demonstrates that conversion is a viable and practical option – and one which may well be sought by the majority of trustees as a cleaner long-term solution than having to commit to the complexity of running a dual record system for many decades into the future.”

Click here to read the guidance published by The Department for Work and Pensions.

Click here to read our News Alert, a more detailed document written by our technical experts.