Governance Advisory Arrangement

In February 2015 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out new rules for providers operating workplace personal pension plans (called relevant schemes) to take effect from 6 April 2015.

From that date, providers had to set up an Independent Governance Committee or appoint a Governance Advisory Arrangement whose principal functions would be to:

• Act solely in the interests of the relevant policyholders of those pension plans and to
• Assess the ‘value for money’ delivered by the pension plans to those relevant policyholders.

The FCA rules also require that the Chair of each Independent Governance Committee and Governance Advisory Arrangement produce an annual report setting out a number of prescribed matters.