TPR Approach To The New Criminal Offences

The Pension Schemes Act 2021 establishes two new criminal offences, one in respect of avoidance of employer debt, and the other with conduct that puts accrued benefits at risk which could result in a fine of unlimited extent and/or imprisonment for up to seven years.  TPR has consulted on how it proposes to investigate and prosecute these offences.  Its draft policy gives examples of activities that might result in investigation and when ‘a reasonable excuse’ might exist.

In this one page summary we highlight some of our concerns about the new offences and how these might be addressed.