The MGN Pension Scheme is expected to be fully funded by January 2028, after action by The Pensions Regulator secured an additional £25.5m five-year injection from publisher Reach Plc.

TPR's latest regulatory intervention report confirmed that it had been informed by the trustee at the expiry of the 15-month statutory deadline for agreeing the 2019 triennial valuation that agreement with the company was extremely unlikely.

Whilst TPR’s supervision team engaged with the trustee and the company, an agreement was not possible, and the matter was passed over to TPR's enforcement team in August 2022.

The disagreement in relation to the 2019 valuation lasted beyond the effective date for the scheme’s next triennial valuation, which had an effective date of 31 December 2022, meaning that trustee and the company now had to reach agreement in respect of both valuations.

However, TPR confirmed that while it was ready to take formal action if an agreement was not been reached, it was able to use negotiation to help the trustee and company to reach a mutually acceptable solution without the formal use of its powers.

This final agreement included making significant improvements in the deficit recovery schedule with the financial support of the wider group, as well as improving an existing dividend sharing agreement.

In particular, the parties agreed that the scheme will receive deficit recovery contributions of £46m per year, marking a £5.1m increase on the previous annual payments of £41m under the old recovery plan.

As a result, the scheme is expected to be fully funded on its prudent technical provisions basis by January 2028.

TPR executive director of compliance and enforcement, Gaucho Rasmussen, highlighted the case as demonstration of how the regulator will support trustees in their role as the first line of defence for savers, and to stop bigger problems arising later.

“We want to protect members of schemes and are pleased that in this instance the employer and trustee were able to agree their valuations without the need for us to use our powers," he continued.

“We want all schemes to be open and transparent with us and engage with us early so that we can be clear on our expectations. As in this case, schemes and employers can then work together to resolve issues.

“If schemes and employers do not to engage with us early, and do not respond to our steers, then they should not be surprised if we use the full suite of regulatory tools at our disposal, to resolve our concerns and ensure good outcomes for members of a scheme.”

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