13 February 2019 
Caroline Jones, Employment tax director
The Government has published its response to the consultation on protecting defined benefit pension schemes. The document sought views on proposals to improve the existing notifiable events framework by including a broader range of employer-related events. It also sought views on the removal of the existing notifiable event in respect of wrongful trading of the sponsoring employer, and an extension of the current ‘breach of banking covenant’ event.
The Government intends to change the penalty regime and will continue to engage with stakeholders regarding the level of fixed and escalating penalties. The other key take-aways are:
The Government has stated that legislation will be brought forward as soon as Parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, it will continue to engage with stakeholders on the detail.
