1 10The Pensions Act 2004 is amended as follows.

2 In section 11 (annual reports), in subsection (3), at the end there is inserted—

“(d) the exercise of the Regulator’s functions in relation to public
service pension schemes.”

3 (1) Section 13 (improvement notices) is amended as follows.

(2) 15In subsection (3)(a), after “90” there is inserted “or 90A”.

(3) In subsection (7)—

(a) in paragraph (c), the final “or” is repealed;

(b) at the end there is inserted “or

“(e) section 5(4) (pension board: conflicts of interest and
20representation), 6 (pension board: information), 14
(information about benefits) or 16 (records) of the
Public Service Pensions Act 2013.”

4 After section 14 there is inserted—

“14A Appointment of skilled person to assist public service pension scheme

(1) 25The Regulator may, if it considers it desirable for the purpose of
ensuring compliance with pensions legislation, appoint a person to
assist the pension board of a public service pension scheme in the
discharge of its functions.

(2) A person appointed under this section may be any person appearing
30to the Regulator to have the necessary skills.

(3) The pension board of a public service pension scheme must have
regard to the advice of a person appointed under this section.

(4) The costs of a person appointed under this section are to be met by
the scheme manager of the scheme.

(5) 35In subsection (1) “pensions legislation” has the same meaning as in
section 13.”

5 (1) In section 17 (power of the Regulator to recover unpaid contributions),
subsection (3) is amended as follows.

(2) In the definition of “due date”—

(a) 40in paragraph (b), the final “and” is repealed;

(b) after paragraph (c) there is inserted “and

“(d) in relation to employer contributions payable under a
public service pension scheme, the date on which the
contributions are due under the scheme;”.

(3) 5In the definition of “employer contribution”—

(a) in paragraph (a)—

(i) after “occupational pension scheme” there is inserted “other
than a public service pension scheme”;

(ii) the final “and” is repealed;

(b) 10after paragraph (b) there is inserted “and

“(c) in relation to a public service pension scheme, means
any contributions payable under the scheme by the
employer.”

6 In section 70 (duty to report breaches of the law), in subsection (1)—

(a) 15after paragraph (a) there is inserted—

“(aa) a member of the pension board of a public service
pension scheme;”;

(b) in paragraph (b), for “such a scheme” there is substituted “an
occupational or personal pension scheme”.

7 20After section 70 there is inserted—

“Reporting late payment of employer contributions

70A Duty to report late payment of employer contributions

(1) Where—

(a) any amount payable under a public service pension scheme
25by or on behalf of an employer in relation to the scheme by
way of contributions is not paid on or before the date on
which it is due under the scheme, and

(b) the scheme manager has reasonable cause to believe that the
failure is likely to be of material significance to the Regulator
30in the exercise of any of its functions,

the scheme manager must give a written report of the matter to the
Regulator as soon as reasonably practicable.

(2) No duty to which a person is subject is to be regarded as contravened
merely because of any information or opinion contained in a written
35report under this section.

This is subject to section 311 (protected items).

This is subject to section 311 (protected items).

(3) Section 10 of the Pensions Act 1995 (civil penalties) applies to any
person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with an
40obligation imposed on him by this section.”

8 (1) Section 71 (reports by skilled persons) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (b), the final “or” is repealed;

(b) after paragraph (b) there is inserted—

“(ba) in the case of a work-based scheme which is a public
service pension scheme, a member of the pension
board of the scheme, or”;

(c) 5in paragraph (c), for “such a scheme” there is substituted “a work-
based pension scheme”.

9 In section 72 (provision of information), in subsection (2), after paragraph (a)
there is inserted—

“(aa) a member of the pension board of a public service pension
10scheme,”.

10 In section 73 (inspection of premises), in subsection (2)—

(a) after paragraph (d) there is inserted—

“(da) section 16 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013;”;

(b) in paragraph (e), for “(d)” there is substituted “(da)”.

11 15In section 89 (reports), at the end there is inserted—

“(4) Before making a report under this section which relates to a public
service pension scheme, the Regulator must notify the scheme
manager.”

12 After section 89 there is inserted—

“89A 20Reports about misappropriation etc in public service pension schemes

(1) If the Regulator has reasonable grounds to suspect or believe that a
member of the pension board of a public service pension scheme—

(a) has misappropriated any assets of the scheme or is likely to
do so, or

(b) 25has a conflict of interest in relation to investment of assets of
the scheme,

the Regulator must report the matter to the scheme manager.

(2) For the purposes of the law of defamation, the reporting of any
matter by the Regulator under subsection (1) is privileged unless the
30reporting is shown to be made with malice.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) a person does not have a
conflict of interest in relation to investment of assets merely by virtue
of membership of the scheme.”

13 (1) Section 90 (codes of practice) is amended as follows.

(2) 35In subsection (4), after “code of practice” (where first occurring) there is
inserted “issued under this section”.

(3) In subsection (7), at the end there is inserted “under this section”.

(4) At the end of the section there is inserted—

“(8) The Regulator may not issue codes of practice under this section in
40relation to a public service pension scheme (but see section 90A).”