FRC revises actuarial standard for Funeral Plan Trusts
News types: Codes and Standards Announcements, Consultation Announcement, Feedback Statement, Generic Announcement, Guidance, Operating Procedures, Policies and Responsibilities, Policy Statements, Publications, Statements
Published: 28 July 2020
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today issued a revision to its Technical Actuarial Standard for work supporting Funeral Plan Trusts (TAS 400). The revised standard has been updated to reflect new requirements introduced by the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA) following a consultation in February.
There are two associated reasons for making this change now; authorisation and supervision of Funeral Plan Trusts is scheduled to move from the FPA to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the near to medium future; and the FPA has introduced new requirements in their rules to include a new Asset Adequacy Report. This has been reflected in TAS 400.
Mark Babington, FRC Executive Director, Regulatory Standards said:
“Due to the commercial risks associated with the transition of supervision from the FPA to the FCA, we have revised our standard to protect the public interest during this period. The FRC will keep under review any further changes needed to TAS going forward.”
Once the transition to the FCA is completed the FRC will conduct a further review to see whether TAS 400 is still needed as a separate TAS, and if it is, what further changes are needed.
The FRC is currently reviewing the TASs to ensure they remain fit for purpose. The current TASs were introduced in July 2017 and a five year cycle is adopted between updates or revisions. In the current environment the FRC intends for its next full review to take effect by July 2023. This is slightly longer than normal as a result of the current pandemic.
Further information can be found at the following links:
Amended TAS 400
Feedback Statement
Tas 400 with tracked changes