FRC Consultation on changes to Technical Actuarial Standard TAS 400 - Funeral Plan Trusts

20 Feb 2020 11:34 AM

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today published a consultation on proposed changes to its Technical Actuarial Standard on actuarial work to support funeral plan trusts (TAS 400).

The documents enclosed are:

• A consultation on proposed changes to TAS 400;
• An Exposure Draft incorporating the proposed changes; and
• An Exposure Draft showing the proposed changes tracked from the current version of TAS 400.

To determine the proposed changes the FRC considered:  

• The changes to the Rules of the Funeral Planning Association effective from 1 January 2020
• The expectation that all funeral plan trusts will come under the authorisation and supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority in the foreseeable future and
• The need to ensure an orderly transition from FPA to FCA supervision and to protect against risks that might arise during this transitionary period.

The revised TAS 400 is expected to come into force in December 2020 but actuaries practising in this area are encouraged to adopt the changes earlier.

Paul George, Executive Director of Corporate Governance & Reporting, said:

“The market for funeral plan trusts is growing rapidly and high quality actuarial work is vital in promoting confidence in funeral plan trusts among the many who will need to rely on them at a most stressful and sensitive time.

By enshrining the changes to the FPA rules into the TAS and clarifying that the actuary must be satisfied that any deficit in the trust will be remedied over an appropriate period, we believe this should provide suitable protection to families of those people who effect these plans.

The FRC welcomes feedback on the proposals.

The consultation can be found here and closes on 12 May 2020. Responses can be sent by email to TAS400@frc.org.uk.