k) Guaranteed Minimum Pensions were earned between 1978 and 1997 and are no longer accruing, meaning that the existence of entitlements is known and will not change. While the base Guaranteed Minimum Pension is re-valued each year up to state pension age, pension schemes could annotate members' records with Guaranteed Minimum Pension information in advance of their reaching state pension age, rather than waiting for HM Revenue and Customs to provide notifications. Pension schemes and their administration and payment contractors should assess whether prior annotation offers a cost-effective way of reducing the risks associated with administering Guaranteed Minimum Pensions.
l) The complexity of the existing Guaranteed Minimum Pension system increases the risk of error and makes it costly to administer. A complicated administrative process has evolved over a number of years, in a context of changing legislation and organisational structures. A fundamental review should therefore be commissioned to consider whether, within the existing legislation in respect of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions, there are opportunities to reform and simplify the administrative system designed to implement that legislation. We suggest the review should be commissioned by HM Treasury because of its responsibility for the financial and budgetary framework and for ensuring departmental efficiency, together with the Cabinet Office as the central co ordinator of the response to these errors and with its wider responsibilities for the civil service.