Today HMRC published a draft of The Registered Pension Schemes (Authorised Payments) Regulations 2008, which we anticipated would be forthcoming. The regs will be made under Sch 29 para 1(2) of the Finance Bill 2008, currently before Parliament.

The draft regs provide for certain unplanned payments to be treated as authorised payments, with effect retrospective to 6 April 2006. They also spell out for the first time the circumstances in which HMRC intends to permit trivial commutation of small "stranded pots" (see 2008 Budget Note 42), with effect from a date to be set.