The pensions industry can expect the regulator to “engage differently with the market” in future, as it ups its digital capabilities, monitors market consolidation and bolsters saver innovation.
In its corporate plan for 2024 to 2027, published today, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) set out how it would tackle the challenges of the shifting pensions landscape as it overhauls its own structure and operations at the same time.
Under the plan, the key challenges in 2024-25 are highlighted as embedding the new defined benefit (DB) funding code, which comes into force this autumn, ensuring schemes deliver value for money and raising the standards among pension trustees.
TPR will also continue to support pension trustees with the large-scale adoption of digital pensions dashboards mandated by the government. The dashboards are digital services such as apps, websites or other tools, which savers can use to see their pension information in one place. This includes being able to identify pension pots they may have lost track of and being able to view the value of their pensions in terms of an estimated retirement income.
Pension scheme trustees are expected to set up the dashboards and communicate their availability to scheme members by 31 October 2026.
In years two and three of its corporate plan, TPR will focus on the delivery of the defined contribution (DC) value for money framework, tackling deferred small pots and working with the industry to develop solutions to support savers into retirement.
TPR chair Sarah Smart said: “The pensions market is changing to one of fewer, larger, schemes. This presents new risks and opportunities for savers and the economy. This year’s plan demonstrates how we will address these challenges to protect savers, enhance the pension system and support innovation.
“We will encourage innovation by helping trustees support DC savers into retirement and supporting DB models and options for consolidation that protect savers.”
In addition to its focus on the evolving the pension landscape, the regulator has its own evolution planned. It will restructure into three new regulatory directorates: regulatory compliance; market oversight; and strategy, policy, and analysis.
The plan said: “These will be supported and enabled by operations, digital, data and technology, and people teams. Within our new structure we will meet the dynamic needs of the pensions market by streamlining our approach, improving collaboration, quickening our pace, and harnessing new skills.”
Nausicaa Delfas, chief executive at the regulator, said: “This plan signals that the market should expect us to engage differently with it in the future. Our focus is not just on the fundamentals of driving high levels of compliance, but also working together to enhance the system and support innovation in savers’ interests. Internally this will involve investing in our people, developing our digital, data and technology capabilities and embedding our new structure, which aligns with our strategic priorities.”
Responding to the plan, Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetimes Saving Association, said: “TPR’s strategy is ambitious, covering many of the priority policy areas for our members: the DB journey, value for money, how to access pensions at and through retirement, small pots, trusteeship, scams and collective defined contribution funds.
“Some of the operational changes signalled will need care and be balanced against maintaining the usual functioning of the regulator, but, with good progress already shown in TPR taking a more risk- and data-led approach, we are very supportive of the improvements these changes will bring to TPR’s supervision.”
