Date posted: 19/10/2021

Audience

  • Pension leads
  • HR directors
  • HR managers
  • Payroll managers
  • Exit/Redundancy managers

Summary

This is an update to EPN637 – Update on cessation of easements
In line with our commitment to review the position on ceasing easements, as set out in EPN636, we can now confirm that easements will remain in place until 31 January 2022.

This includes all easements set out in EPN602.

Actions

No action is required by members or employers at this time. The revised processes introduced as part of the easements will continue as they have been since April 2020.

Timing

Immediate

Detail

The easements were rapidly introduced as a temporary solution in response to the unique and unprecedented circumstances of March 2020. They were designed to allow members and employers to continue to transact with the Scheme Administrator during lockdown. These included a number of temporary changes relating to how we could accept documents, certificates and wet signatures from members and claimants via email and scanned images.
For more information on the easements that were introduced, please see EPN602.

Following discussions with and feedback from employers, we can now confirm that easements will remain in place until Monday 31 January 2022.

We will review this position again before 31 January 2022, to confirm if the easements are still required to support members and employers.

For information on how the reversal of easements will impact members and how we will be communicating this change to members, please refer to the information previously provided in EPN632.

Published:
19 October 2021
Last updated:
24 April 2023