The Pensions Regulator (TPR) published guidance on 26 March 2026 on the Virgin Media remedy which is being introduced as part of the Pension Schemes Bill.

Published: 2 April 2026
Authors: Suzanne Burrell & Rhiannon Barnsley-Bloomfield

What is the Virgin Media remedy?

The remedy is in response to uncertainty following the judgment in Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Pension Trustees II Ltd. The judgment found that where the requisite actuarial confirmation (also referred to as a section 37 confirmation) had not been obtained, then any amendment to certain rights in contracted-out pension schemes were void.  The judgment applies to any pension schemes that were contracted-out of the additional state pension between 6 April 1997 and 5 April 2016.

See our article for further information on the judgment.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced that it would introduce legislation to address the issues arising from the judgment. The remedy was introduced in the Pension Schemes Bill and will come into force on the date that the Bill receives Royal Assent. The remedy gives the scheme actuary the power to retrospectively validate historical amendments, provided certain conditions are met.

Who is the guidance for?

The guidance can be used by trustees of pension schemes that were contracted-out of the additional state pension at any point between 6 April 1997 and 5 April 2016 that have not been wound-up or transferred to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) or the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) at the date the Bill receives Royal Assent.

Schemes that have fully wound-up or transferred to the PPF or the FAS at the date of Royal Assent will have any affected amendments treated as valid.

What should trustees do?

Pension scheme trustees should establish whether their scheme was contracted-out and is potentially affected by the Virgin Media judgment. If so, trustees should review the amending deeds (and resolutions, if applicable) dated between 6 April 1997 and 5 April 2016 and take legal advice on whether the statutory requirements were met. If any amendments are missing the required actuarial confirmation, the trustees should consider if the Virgin Media remedy can be utilised.

If deciding to use the remedy, trustees should provide a formal written instruction to the current scheme actuary to consider whether the remedy can be used including:

• the amendment for the actuary to consider
• if multiple amendments occurred at the same time, whether the actuary can consider the overall effect of the amendments together, each amendment individually or a combination of both approaches.

Although the remedy isn’t yet available, trustees can provide written instructions to the scheme actuary to start the work now.

At the outset, trustees should speak to the scheme actuary to understand if they have sufficient information to undertake the work. Trustees are not expected to carry out exhaustive searches before the actuary starts work, although if the actuary requests further information, trustees may need to liaise with the previous advisers and the sponsoring employer to obtain the information needed.

Trustees do not need to report any action utilising the Virgin Media remedy to TPR which has no statutory functions in relation to the remedy, but trustees should maintain a “clear audit trail” on all decisions, actions and results.

Key takeaways

The guidance is helpful for trustees of pension schemes that were contracted-out between the relevant dates to address practical issues arising from the forthcoming remedy. Trustees, with their advisers, should start reviewing any amendments made between 1997 and 2016 to identify any potential issues. Trustees with known issues can provide formal written instructions to the scheme actuary now to start considering how the remedy might be utilised ahead of it coming into force.

As suggested by the guidance, trustees may wish to start drafting a reactive response on the remedy to deal with any potential member queries.