Frequently asked questions

IPS can be accessed through its own unique portal. A link to this will appear on the IPS Support Hub on the Pensions Authority website.

IPS can be accessed using Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox.

If IPS is not working as it should, a User should:

• Try refreshing the page.
• Check that you are using a supported browser.
• Log out and log back in.
• Contact your Group Manager.

Depending on the type of entity you represent, you will have access to different parts of IPS, e.g., RAs will have access to: RA Renewal and ASIs. Similarly, a Scheme Actuary will only have access to the actuarial submissions.

Yes, you can download a list of all your linked schemes in the ‘All Schemes’ tile under ‘Register of Schemes’. You can select to download all linked schemes where you have a current relationship to the scheme or download a list of all relationships attached to your linked schemes.

Yes, in the Register of Entities, under the ‘Amend a Registered Entity’ tile, you can download a listing of the Entity Identifier details listing to assist with the population of bulk employer uploads

Yes, in the Register of Schemes, under the ‘All Schemes’ tile, when you view Scheme Details of a particular scheme you can download your ‘Current Scheme Details’ file or ‘All Scheme Details’ file for your records. These reports will be available in PDF format in the future (only available as a CSV file currently).

Yes, you can search by employer on IPS, when you need to make an entity amendment, under the ‘Amend A Registered Entity’ tile. You can only search non-corporate entities (i.e., individuals) where you have a legitimate interest in the scheme in which the non-corporate entity is associated with, i.e., you will need to know the PB number and be logged into a group that is associated with the scheme to view any non-corporate employer data.

No, you cannot search for schemes or submissions by a company’s unique reference number. You can only search schemes by the criteria available under ‘Advanced Search’ under ‘All Schemes/All Submissions’. There is a corporate search available under the ‘Amend a Registered Entity’ tile – but this is only to search for when an entity amendment is required.

No, intermediary relationship updates on IPS are not required.

No, postal address updates on IPS will not be required because postal address data will not migrate to IPS, except for RA entities.

Users must provide the scheme’s date of commencement and the PB number. This requirement applies to both individual and bulk submissions.

An individual’s email address will be their unique identifier on IPS. Where the Authority does not hold an email address on record, a dummy email address has been assigned.

Users should review the current report of schemes attached to IPs in the Group Admin section of the Customer Portal and complete a reconciliation exercise. All schemes with a status of Current, Frozen, or In Wind Up will migrate to IPS, unless a No Assets Declaration has been signed.

Yes, you will not be able to complete a scheme registration or amendment without inputting these fields, except for death benefit only schemes which do not require trustees.

Yes, renewal day changes can be made by a scheme amendment submission.

A professional trustee is defined in Section 2 of the Act as a person who:

• holds themselves out as having special knowledge, skills, and expertise with respect to pension trusts; and
• in the course of a profession or business provides trustee services to schemes or trust RACs.

An Individual KFH should only be selected if the KFH is a sole trader. Corporate should be selected where the KFH services are being provided by an employee of a corporate entity.

Yes, organisations should have multiple Group Managers to ensure continuity of service and to provide cover during periods of leave and/or absence.

On the IPS homepage, select ‘User Management’ then select ‘User List’ and then click ‘Create New User’. Enter the required details, assign the appropriate role, and submit the request. The User will receive an email instructing them on how to activate their account. For more information, please see the video resources on the IPS Support Hub.

When creating a new User account on IPS, you will need:

• The User’s full name.
• The User’s work email address.
• User Type (User or Group Manager).

A new User account is created immediately after the Group Manager creates the account. The User will then receive an email to activate their account. Once the activation process has been completed, the account becomes active and the User can log in to IPS.

The Group Manager should deactivate the User’s IPS account as soon as possible to prevent unauthorised access.

A User in IPS may be assigned as either a User or Group Manager.

No. Each IPS User must have their own individual email address. Email addresses cannot be shared between Users.

Please contact IPS support if:

• You cannot resolve a user access issue.
• User permissions appear incorrect.
• There is a suspected security concern.
• The system is not working as expected.

If reporting an issue to IPS support, please include the following information:

• Organisation name.
• Name of User (if applicable).
• Description of the issue.
• Any error messages displayed.
• Date and time the issue occurred.
• Screenshots (if necessary).

The Group Manager should always be the first point of resolution. If they are unable to resolve the issue, the Group Manage should then contact IPS support.

The User should first use the forget password option on the IPS login page. If further assistance is required, please contact your Group Manager.

Users should contact their Group Managers who will be able to unlock their account.

They should:

• Check their junk/spam folder.
• Confirm that the registered email address is correct.
• Contact their Group Manager if the issue persists.

Yes, Users should update email addresses whenever possible while making other record updates on IPS to ensure information remains accurate and current.

No, but there is a review page with all inputted information which appears before submitting.

Yes, submissions previously made on PDR will be available on IPS, however, schemes that are wound-up or deleted on PDR have not been migrated to IPS, so their associated submissions will not be available on IPS.

Only scheme registrations can be edited, by using the ‘Pause’ functionality, on IPS. Other submissions cannot be edited; however, they can be removed, amended, and then resubmitted.

It depends on the type of submission. If it is a scheme amendment, you will need to submit a new scheme amendment which will effectively undo the changes made in error. The effective dates of the amendments should reflect the date of the pre-errored submission, so that the history of the scheme is correct. If you enter an ASI in error, you may either remove the bulk ASI bundle or the individual ASI return. Actuaries can remove AADRs, AFCs, and FSRCs.

No, the submission date will be the date on which the resubmitted submission is made.

Yes, though it is important that deadlines are kept and that infractions remain rare.

Yes, once you have made your submission, you will get an email confirmation.

No, submissions will need to be completed in their entirety.

Yes, employers can be uploaded in bulk on IPS to update schemes. For more information, please see the Bulk Upload Specifications document.

ASIs in IPS are submitted using comma-separated values files (CSV). If you wish to upload a single ASI, you must create a two-line CSV file with column headers and the ASI data. For more information, please see the IPS Annual Scheme Information document.+

A wind-up resolution is only required to be attached when winding up a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme. Other scheme types do not require a wind-up resolution when they are being wound up.

No, any submissions with a status of “Returned” or “Reject Pending” on PDR at go-live will not be migrated to IPS.

No, scheme registration submissions that have not been approved and registered by go-live will not migrate to IPS.

Yes, IPS introduces a new submission type specifically for entity amendments, such as changes to an entity’s name.

Trustee secretary and trustee chairperson details, including name and email address, are now required for all schemes. Additionally, appropriate trustee coverage must be in place, meaning either:

• One corporate trustee with two directors; or
• Two trustees.

For trustees that are in a partnership, each partner should be listed as an individual trustee on IPS submissions.

Users are responsible for all bulk uploads on IPS. Internal back-office staff will no longer have the ability to upload bulk files on behalf of Users.

Yes, scheme actuary numbers appear in the PDF of the actuarial returns.

Yes, funding standard reserve figures can be negative.

Yes, Scheme Actuaries are each Group Managers on IPS. A Scheme Actuary group will have only one member.

Funding submissions that have not been registered by go-live will not migrate to IPS. Only funding submissions that have been registered will transfer to IPS.

No, IPS will allow these documents to be signed digitally. The actuary will log on to IPS and confirm that the contents of the forms are correct.

Authorised Officers must log in and digitally certify RA Renewal submissions on IPS. If an AO is not already a PDR user, they will become an IPS user. In addition, instead of uploading a list of schemes with which they have an active RA relationship, AOs must now download the list of schemes from IPS and certify its accuracy.

Yes, an RA can download a list of their due and overdue ASIs (same download) under the ‘Scheme Returns’ tile. This download will show all ASIs which are falling due and overdue (since 2020).

When creating a new User account on IPS, you will need:

• The User’s full name.
• The User’s work email address.
• User Type (User or Group Manager).