FT Adviser (03/04/2019) – Only three master trusts have been granted authorisation since the deadline for applications closed last week.
As of today (April 3) Legal & General WorkSave Mastertrust, Legal & General WorkSave Mastertrust (RAS), and LifeSight have been authorised, according to The Pensions Regulator.
Existing master trusts had until 31 March 2019 to apply for authorisation, trigger their exit from the market or request an extension.
About 90 master trusts were in the market as of November 2018. However, this number has been cut by more than half.
According to an update published today by The Pensions Regulator (April 3), 27 applications have a decision on authorisation pending, while three schemes have been authorised.
A further 10 schemes have been given an extension of up to six weeks after failing to submit their applications in time.
A further nine schemes are confirmed to have exited the market, while 34 have notified TPR of a triggering event to exit. One further scheme intends to exit, but is yet to submit a triggering event notification, according to the regulator.
Alan Chan, director and Chartered financial planner at IFS Wealth, said: “The authorised numbers do seem low, but I can’t say I’m too surprised.
“The new master trust criteria is now more stringent than ever before, so naturally more checks and due diligence are required before they can be authorised.”
Full article link: https://www.ftadviser.com/pensions/2019/04/03/master-trust-numbers-more-than-halve/
