Only a few working days left to meet 31 December 2022 deadline

For ZTSL Group Schemes and ZTSL One Member Schemes (ZTSL EPPs) issued on or after the 22 April 2021 where Zurich Trustee Services Limited (ZTSL) is Trustee – No action required

Schemes where ZTSL is trustee have no further action to take at the moment. There is a ZTSL Board Meeting on this Thursday (8 December 2022) at which the ZTSL Board will be asked to approve a resolution to formally commit to wind-up these schemes and transfer the assets to the Zurich Master Trust or another approved arrangement selected by the trustee in 2023, in order to maintain compliance with the requirements of IORP II.

For Non ZTSL Group Pension Schemes – Immediate action required

If you have not done so already, you should immediately talk to your clients about making a formal commitment to wind-up their existing company pension scheme in 2023. This commitment will need to be provided by the employer or by the trustees (as appropriate) before 31 December 2022, with the wind up of the scheme and transfer of assets being completed no later than 31 December 2023.

We need confirmation from the employer that a formal commitment is in place. We have created a simple template that you can use for this which should be sent to our Master Trust transition team via MasterTrust@zurich.com – a scanned copy or photograph will do. We will record this and ensure that your clients existing pension scheme transitions to the Zurich Master Trust in 2023.

For Non ZTSL One Member Schemes (Non ZTSL EPPs) – Immediate action required

We recently wrote to employers performing trusteeship on one member schemes issued on or after 22 April 2021. Our letter explained the regulatory changes impacting one member schemes and also highlighted the Pensions Authority announcement that if a formal commitment is made before 31 December 2022 to wind-up the scheme and transfer the assets of the scheme to a Master Trust or a PRSA, the trustee’s will not be required to meet the new IORP II requirements (including Annual Report and Audited Accounts) provided that the transfer and scheme wind up is completed by 30 June 2023.

To assist these Trustee’s with documenting this formal commitment we have created a simple template for One Member Schemes. To meet the Pensions Authority requirements, this needs to be completed and returned to us, by 31December 2022.

A scanned copy or photograph of a signed confirmation of this Formal Commitment should be sent to us via OneMemberTransition@zurich.com as a matter of urgency.

If you have any queries, please contact your Zurich Broker Consultant. To find out more about the Zurich Master Trust, visit zurichcorporate.ie