UK Pensions: DC trustee agenda update - September 2023

Mansion House reforms

The government published a raft of documents after the Chancellor announced pension reforms as part of his Mansion House speech (see more on our weekly pension roundup). The documents included a call for evidence on trustee skills, capability and culture; responses and further consultations on choices in decumulation and the proliferation of small pots; and consultation responses on the new value-for-money framework and extending opportunities for CDC schemes.

The deadline for input on the call for evidence and consultations is 5 September 2023 and final decisions on the various proposals will be made ahead of the Autumn Statement later this year.

ACTION: Review / ask for training on the proposals.

Dashboards update UPDATED

Regulations setting 31 October 2026 as the new dashboards connection deadline for all schemes came into force on 9 August 2023 (read The Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2023). A staging timeline for connection will be set out in guidance, rather than legislation (see the Pensions Dashboards Update).

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has updated its dashboards guidance to reflect the revised connection timetable and set out its expectations of schemes in complying with the requirement to have regard to the staging deadline (Pensions dashboards: initial guidance). It has also published a blog post encouraging schemes to focus on data readiness (Make time to get your data dashboards-ready) and the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has published guidance for schemes on improving the accuracy of dashboards data (Dashboards Data Accuracy Guidance).

The DWP has updated its guidance for schemes that are seeking a deferral of their connection deadline, to reflect the new timings (guidance on deferred connection).

ACTION: Continue preparation for pensions dashboards, in line with the guidance.

TPR blog post on protecting DC savers from economic volatility

TPR has published a blog post on supporting DC savers through the current economic environment (TPR blog post). It focuses on steps to take in relation to those closest to retirement with the least time to make up investment losses, including reviewing the default strategy and member communications. In relation to younger savers, TPR suggests schemes may want to provide additional supporting materials alongside annual benefit statements, to help savers understand the context of the figures being provided to them.

ACTION: Read the blog post and consider whether any changes are needed to support your members.

Watch this space

• The government has consulted on changes to the notifiable events regime. There is currently no revised date for the delayed regulations (Notifiable Events Regulations 2021).
• TPR has consulted on its proposed single code of practice (to be known as the General Code): watch our webinar on the proposals and read TPR’s interim response. Publication of the revised version of the code is expected soon. 

Contact us for more information or to be added to our mailing list.