The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published version 2.1 of the Technical Actuarial Standard 300: Pensions (TAS 300), with the revised version expected to bring greater clarity to practitioners.

Following its recent consultation, FRC confirmed that TAS 300 has been revised to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose, given recent changes to the pension funding regime and increasing interest in using pension scheme surpluses.

As part of this, FRC also removed provisions from the standard that are no longer needed.

The standard will be effective for technical actuarial work completed on or after 1 November 2025.

Commenting on the update, FRC executive director of regulatory standards, Mark Babington, said: “Quality actuarial work will assist trustees and employers to establish appropriate plans for funding their pension schemes and to make informed decisions on the use of any surplus funding.

“The revisions to TAS 300 support the government's pensions reform agenda and promote reliable actuarial work in this sector.

“Notably, they support actuaries in facilitating in a proportionate way, management of the long-term financial risks associated with defined benefit pension schemes to the benefit of members and employers.

FRC confirmed that practitioners may choose to apply the previous version (2.0) of the standards for technical actuarial work on funding valuations with an effective date before 22 September 2024.

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