Guidance

Manage and Register Pension Schemes service newsletter - June 2018

Published 4 June 2018

1. Launch of the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service

Today HMRC launched the first phase of our new Manage and Register Pension Schemes service, so if you’re registering as a pension scheme administrator or applying to register a pension scheme, you’ll now do this using the new Manage and Register Pension Schemes service.

We’ve updated our main guidance on GOV.UK to reflect when you should use the new service and what you’ll need before you start. You can find more information in the guides:

• Register as a pension scheme administrator
• Register a pension scheme
• Manage a registered pension scheme

We’ve created a new guide for practitioners to provide information about registering as a practitioner and to explain what practitioners need to do if they’re reporting on behalf of a pension scheme administrator.

We’ve made some small changes to some of our other GOV.UK guides and to forms to reflect the changes following the launch of the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service. These guides are:

• APSS150 (the form to authorise or de-authorise a practitioner)
• APSS153 (the form to make changes to pension schemes details)

We’ll also be updating the Pensions Tax Manual.

This is a new service so we’ll use your feedback to make improvements whilst the service is online.

As we explained in the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service newsletter we’ll continue to add to the service over the next two years and we’ll let you know about service developments through our pension schemes newsletters.

2. Additional features from 11 June 2018

If you’re using the new service in the first few days, you will not be able to a see a list of the schemes you’ve applied to register or see the status of these applications. We’ll be adding these features onto the new service on 11 June 2018 and we’ll update the GOV.UK guidance to reflect this.

So that we can add these features, we’ll need to temporarily close the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service on 9 and 10 June 2018. During this time, you will not be able to apply to register a pension scheme or register as a scheme administrator until the service comes back online on 11 June 2018.

3. Existing scheme administrators

To avoid delay when you need to use the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service, we’d encourage you to log into the service and complete your enrolment information to successfully complete your new online pension scheme administrator record.

You only need to do this once, the first time you log into the service. You’ll get an online confirmation message that you’ve updated your details successfully.

4. Using the service if you’re a non-trading company or a public sector organisation

If you’re a non-trading company or public sector organisation and you need to use the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service, you’ll only be able to do this if you have a 10 digit Corporation Tax unique taxpayer reference (UTR). We can issue you with a provisional Corporation Tax UTR so that you can use the service, if you do not already have one. As you only need to use it once, it will not be an active Corporation Tax UTR for HMRC’s purposes and there will be no onward Corporation Tax requirements for your company or organisation.

To get a Corporation Tax UTR, you must email us with:

• the company name
• the company address

Send your email to: pensions.administration@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and put ‘MaRPS - Corporation Tax UTR’ in the subject line of your email. We’ll send you your Corporation Tax UTR by post.

5. Phase One - second release

We’re continuing to work on developing the service and in our next main releases due later in 2018 we’ll include additional features so that you can:

• amend your pension scheme details
• associate/add additional pension scheme administrators to your scheme
• remove yourself as a pension scheme administrator in certain circumstances
• decline an invitation to be associated to a scheme as pension scheme administrator
• remove yourself as a pension scheme administrator from the new service

We’ll also deliver changes to align our registration process with the authorisation process for master trusts.

6. Work on Phase Two

As we explained in the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service newsletter, during Phase Two we’re planning to:

• introduce pension scheme reporting on the service
• add pension scheme practitioners so they can use the new service to support pension scheme administrators with their reporting requirements
• issue penalties and assessments for pension schemes through the new service
• migrate existing pension schemes and scheme administrators (who have not already used Manage and Register Pension Schemes) from the current Pension Schemes Online service to the new service
• start to issue you with notifications, notices and letters through the service.

We’re still designing these features and welcome your feedback as we develop the service.

7. User research on the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service

We’re still looking for volunteers to help us with our user research for the new service and we’d like to hear from you if you have used the new service and can give us feedback on how you found this.

We’d also like to hear from pension scheme administrators and practitioners if you’re interested in volunteering to help with our user research for Phase Two of the service.

If you can help with this, email: pensions.businessdelivery@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and put ‘Manage and Register Pension Schemes - user research’ in the subject line of your email.

8. Further help and information

We’ll give you more information and help through our business as usual Pension Schemes Newsletters and we’ll publish further bespoke newsletters about the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service ahead of each IT release.

We’ll also update guidance on GOV.UK and in the Pensions Tax Manual.

If you’ve any questions or concerns about the Manage and Register Pension Schemes service, email: pensions.businessdelivery@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and put ‘Manage and Register Pension Schemes’ in the subject line of your email.

The information and timelines we’ve provided in this newsletter are correct at the time of publication. However, as you’ll appreciate we’re still developing the new service so we’ll tell you if there are any changes as soon as possible.