This year has been a busy one for the pensions industry. Professional Pensions looks at what happened between January and March.
January
13 January - PP reported on a landmark judgement which ruled that UK employees who travel between locations such as seafarers are eligible for auto enrolment.
Fleet Maritime Services, which employs staff for cruise ships, had challenged The Pensions Regulator's guidance and advice on peripatetic workers, in a 12-month legal case that went to the High Court.
18 January - Royal London loses the right to block a suspected pension liberation transfer in a ruling at the High Court, which could have far-reaching consequences across the industry.
In a judgement on the Hughes v Royal London case the high court overturned a decision by the Pensions Ombudsman, which had backed Royal London's decision to not transfer a member's pot.
28 January - The Pensions Regulator warns there are real risks from new master trusts being subject to less regulatory scrutiny than new contract-based providers.
The watchdog gave the caution as its latest defined contribution statistics showed the number of members in master trusts has risen to 3.9 million, or 80% of the total 4.7 million in automatic enrolment (AE) schemes. TPR's seventh annual statistics report on DC occupational pension schemes is based on data covering around 35,000 private pension schemes as of 31 December 2015.
February
19 February - Deadline for local government schemes demonstrate a commitment to pooling and show they have made progress towards formalising arrangements with other authorities.
23 February - Former pensions minister Steve Webb accuses the Chancellor of orchestrating a ‘daylight robbery' with his proposals to reform tax relief.
Webb, now policy director at Royal London, warned against replacing the current system with either a pension ISA or a low flat-rate of tax relief for all.
He said this would "steal billions of pounds in tax revenues from the next generation". He also cautioned it would be a "grave mistake" to cut the financial support available for pension saving, as he called for any new system to provide stability and simplicity.
March
16 March - Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) uses the Budget to introduce a lifetime ISA in a bid to introduce a flexible way for the next generation to save.
People under 40 will be able to save up to £4k a year into a tax-free ISA, and for every £4 deposited the government will add a further £1.
24 March - PP reports the Kingfisher Pension Scheme has undergone a £230m medically underwritten buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) in a landmark deal for the bulk annuity market.
Covering 149 specific scheme members in the £3bn defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, it is the biggest bulk annuity deal to be done on a medically underwritten basis.
