A pension scheme must successfully go through Notification and Qualification to be eligible for help from the FAS.

Notification

Before we can decide whether a scheme is a qualifying pension scheme, we need some basic information about it. This is called notification.

You will find a list of schemes that have completed notification on this website or you can contact the trustees of your scheme to check that they have carried out the notification stage.

Qualification

For an occupational pension scheme to be considered under the FAS rules, the scheme must:

• have completed the notification process (as described earlier);
• not be a money purchase scheme (also known as defined contribution scheme where a member’s benefits are based on the
• contributions paid by them and for them by their employer); and
• have begun the winding-up process between 1 January 1997 and 5 April 2005; or
• have started to wind up after 5 April 2005 but is ineligible for help from the Pension Protection Fund due to the employer becoming insolvent before this date.

The scheme must also have a principal employer which:

• has become insolvent or
• entered into a compromise agreement which avoided insolvency, or
• was still solvent on wind-up and had paid any debt it was obliged to pay (or a sufficient proportion had been paid) but that wasn't enough to secure members' benefits in full.
  

You will also find a list of schemes that are qualifying pension schemes and the stage that they are at on this website or you can ask the trustees of your scheme whether your scheme qualifies.