Guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) conversion offers the opportunity for defined benefit schemes to simplify their benefits, potentially saving costs and making schemes more attractive to be bought out with an insurer.

Age-old question

One of the great unanswered questions of pensions law has finally being answered. In October last year, the High Court in the Lloyds Bank case determined that pension schemes have to equalise for the effect of GMPs. As part of the judgment, the Court confirmed the effectiveness of the GMP conversion legislation issued by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Also, in a follow-up judgment, the Court confirmed that GMP conversion, known as the “D2 method”, can be used as a route to achieve equalisation. This effectively allows a scheme to pay the higher of two amounts, based on the value of the member’s GMP and an opposite sex comparator’s GMP, rather than run on dual records for service between May 1990 and April 1997.Continue Reading GMP conversion – an opportunity to simplify benefits

The High Court has held that pension schemes are required to equalise benefits for the effect of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) accrued between 1990 and 1997. The Court also considered a number of possible equalisation methods.

It held that the employer could require the trustees to adopt the cheapest method.Continue Reading GMP equalisation – an increase to DB pension scheme liabilities