• Schemes must have started to wind-up between 1 January 1997 and 5 April 2005 and meet certain other qualifying criteria.
• Members of qualifying schemes who were within 15 years of their normal retirement age on or before 14 May 2004 may qualify for assistance payments, tapered depending on proximity of the member to normal retirement age.
• Qualifying members generally entitled to payments at age 65 (though early access to payments is possible for the terminally ill).
• Eligible survivors of qualifying members who have died may also qualify for payments (at a lower level) regardless of their age.
• FAS payments top up any pensions being paid by the scheme during its winding-up or at wind-up to a specified proportion of members' "expected core pension".
• Payments are subject to a cap (£12,000 a year) and to a de minimis amount (£520 a year).
• In general, payments made whilst pension schemes are winding-up ("initial payments") are paid at a lower rate than final payments ("annual payments"), at up to 60 per cent of expected core pensions.

• Modify and apply certain provisions of Part 2 of the Pensions Act 2004 to regulations governing appeals in relation to the FAS.
• Also amendments to the ways payments are to be made to survivors of qualifying members.

• Provision for the Ombudsman for the Board of the Pension Protection Fund, or a deputy, to investigate and determine appeals against review decisions made by the scheme manager of FAS.

• Cut-off date of 28 February 2007 by which an insolvency event must occur if a pension scheme is to be considered a qualifying scheme within FAS.
• Provision for employers in relation to schemes that had not formally had an insolvency event to be treated as having had an insolvency event for the purposes of FAS Regulations.
• Also for employers' overseas insolvency events that the scheme manager is satisfied substantially corresponds to a qualifying insolvency event.
• Extended eligibility for assistance to members who were within 15 years of their normal retirement age for their scheme at 14 May 2004.
• Clarified that survivors of deceased qualifying members will be considered for payment if the qualifying member was entitled to a FAS payment or would have been entitled to a payment had they lived.

• Removal of tapered assistance
• Level of annual payments set at no less than 80 per cent of expected core pensions subject to any cap (and any assets allocated to members by their scheme).
• This level of assistance is for all qualifying members, regardless of age.
• Provision setting initial payments - paid whilst pension schemes are winding-up - at a level of 80 per cent.
• Inclusion of compromise agreement schemes.

• Prohibited trustees of FAS qualifying schemes from purchasing or agreeing to purchase annuities on behalf of FAS qualifying members (subject to exceptions, for example if trustees had already entered into a binding commitment before the regulations came into force on 26 September 2007, or the Secretary of State for the DWP approved the purchase or agreement).

• On the assumption that the Government would guarantee assistance levels, the Government should take in the assets and pay the amounts due to all FAS beneficiaries as they fall due.

• Payments topped up to 90 per cent.
• Payable from normal retirement age.
• Ill health payments.
• Inclusion of some solvent employers.

• All members of qualifying schemes had their FAS payments increased to 80 per cent of their expected pension.
• Cap increased from £12,000 to £26,000 per annum

• Early access to reduced FAS payments on the grounds of ill health.
• Inclusion of certain schemes where the employer is still trading and solvent.
• Remove the requirement for trustees to apply for initial payments on behalf of members
• Requirement for trustees to provide data to FAS three months before the member's normal retirement age.
• Remove the option for FAS qualifying members to be reinstated into the State Additional Pension (deemed buy back).
• Provide powers for the Pension Protection Fund to manage qualifying schemes through wind-up.
• Provide FAS with powers to direct trustees to undertake particular actions to protect remaining assets within qualifying FAS schemes.

The Financial Assistance Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 provide an exception to one of the qualifying conditions for the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), that schemes must have commenced winding up by 5 April 2005.

The Regulations enable certain occupational pension schemes which currently cannot qualify for the Financial Assistance Scheme, or the Pension Protection Fund to be qualifying pension schemes for the Financial Assistance Scheme.