Trustee fines on the increase

The pensions regulator saw a fourfold increase over the past year in punitive measures having to be implemented against occupational pension schemes for a range of offenses. Opra, in its sixth annual report, recorded financial penalties totalling £632,000 for a range of offenses compared to last year's figure of £158,000 and the £66,200 imposed in 1999-2000. The amount of new cases dealt with by Opra involving breaches of audit requirements was down 8% on last year and stood at 1,571 cases. Fines totalling £267,960 were imposed upon 590 trustees for this failure. New cases involving bre...