Since 6 April 2003, there has been a requirement for members of certain money purchase pension arrangements to be provided with Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPIs). SMPIs are produced in accordance with Technical Memorandum 1: Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (TM1), which is issued by the Board for Actuarial Standards (BAS). The BAS reviews TM1 regularly.

The BAS is today publishing a fast track consultation paper on proposed amendments to TM1 to reflect recent changes in legislation affecting contracted out money purchase pension arrangements. The amendments will mean that, from April 2009, SMPIs will reflect the forthcoming abolition of money purchase contracting out and the changed method of calculating contracting out rebates.

The consultation period ends on 22 December 2008. A copy of the consultation paper can be downloaded from: http://www.frc.org.uk/bas/publications/.

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate governance and reporting . Its functions are exercised principally by its operating bodies (the Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Practices Board, the Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the Professional Oversight Board and the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board) and by the FRC Board. The Committee on Corporate Governance assists the Board in its work on corporate governance.
2. The Board for Actuarial Standards has a primary objective of promoting competence and transparency of actuarial practice by establishing and improving actuarial technical standards and ensuring that they are coherent, consistent and comprehensive. 
3.  All media enquiries should be addressed to Paul Seymour, Chairman of the Board for Actuarial Standards, 020 7492 2328 or email at p.seymour@frc.org.uk