Saoirse is a member of her employer's DC pension scheme. Her marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and her ex-husband has obtained a Pension Adjustment Order (PAO) against her scheme benefits. This PAO is served on:

• A. Saoirse
• B. the scheme trustees
• C. Saoirse's employer
• D. the registered administrator of the scheme

Answer: (B)

A Pension Adjustment Order is a court directive that changes how a member’s pension benefits are allocated to the ex-spouse. The body that must receive and implement that directive is the scheme trustees because they control and administer the scheme’s benefits under the trust deed and rules. The trustees are the legal decision-makers for how benefits are paid and adjusted, so the PAO is served on them to bind the scheme to make the required changes. It isn’t served on Saoirse personally, since she is the subject of the order rather than the recipient of the directive to adjust the scheme, and it isn’t served on the employer, which doesn’t control the scheme’s benefits. The registered administrator handles day-to-day administration, but the binding recipient of a PAO is the trustees who hold and manage the scheme’s assets.