DC survey reveals schemes are readying for guided retirement duty

Our new survey results show master trusts are taking the lead in preparing for the upcoming duty to provide decumulation solutions ahead of the Pensions Schemes Bill.

The DC survey reveals all master trusts surveyed offer decumulation benefit options, and 80% have already reviewed their offering ahead of the duty.

Overall, more than half (51%) of schemes which are aware of guided retirement duty are reviewing what they offer members.

But the survey found around 1 in 3 smaller schemes offer no support beyond statutory communication.

As the duty takes shape, we are working with government and industry to ensure trustees have the clarity and support they need.

We encourage schemes to engage with us – TPR's innovation support is available to help schemes discuss early-stage ideas as they seek to bring new retirement products to market.

“We’re seeing positive indications that the upcoming guided retirement duty is already starting to transform a savings system into a pensions system, as DC schemes ready themselves for the Pension Schemes Bill.” 

Nausicaa Delfas, Chief Executive Officer, TPR

One year to go: is your scheme on track for dashboards connection? 

Fifty million schemes are now connected and tomorrow marks the one-year countdown to the pensions dashboards deadline. This time next year all schemes in scope are expected to be connected.

Strong trustee leadership is essential to keeping your scheme on track and connecting on time. Make sure you're clear on all your duties and read our guidance to stay informed. 

To support your progress, the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has added new video resources to its website. These include insights from initial user testing and explain why testing is vital to the success of dashboards. 

Register for our webinar  

We also invite you to join our next Pensions Dashboards webinar on 3 December, from 2:30 to 3:30pm, where the PDP will feature on our expert panel along with the Pensions Administration Standards Association and a professional trustee. 

They’ll be discussing: 

• the role of dashboards in supporting savers 
• the journey so far and what’s still to come/do 
• what schemes need to do and the importance of data quality
• lessons learned from those who’ve already connected – key messages for those yet to connect
• operational readiness – key elements to consider
• user testing approach and insights  

During the webinar, we’ll also be hosting a live Q&A session, offering attendees the chance to connect directly with our panel of experts and gain insights from the questions raised by others.  

Schemes show robust resilience testing

We carried out a regulatory initiative to see how pension schemes with leveraged Liability Driven Investment (LDI) arrangements are approaching resilience testing.  

Following our recent LDI report, we issued information requests to a sample of pension schemes who confirmed they had leveraged LDI arrangements in their 2025 scheme return. The sample group represented a diverse cross-section of the industry varying in size, governance model, consultants and LDI providers.

Our findings show schemes have robust resilience testing in place. 

Key findings

• Strong understanding of LDI Risks  
  Most schemes demonstrated a clear grasp of the risks associated with leveraged LDI. Respondents were able to articulate their LDI arrangements, describe the size and management of their collateral buffers, and explain how these buffers are monitored and maintained. 
• Effective delegation and collaborative oversight 
  Delegation emerged as a critical component of effective governance. Internal managers, fiduciary managers, and LDI managers all played a role in overseeing LDI arrangements.  
• Resilience testing embedded in ongoing monitoring 
  Although some schemes conducted testing following strategic changes, resilience testing was more commonly integrated into regular monitoring and reporting cycles. 
• Proportionate and effective approaches among smaller schemes
  Smaller schemes demonstrated governance arrangements that were both proportionate to their scale and effective in managing LDI risks. 
• Clear protocols for responding to market volatility
  Schemes set out processes to respond to periods of market stress, ensuring timely decision-making and implementation. 

Examples of good practice

Examples of good practice we saw include:

• Resilience testing conducted regularly and embedded in monitoring frameworks and strategic reviews. 
• Clear delegation of responsibilities, often to fiduciary managers or LDI managers, ensuring accountability and expertise. 
• Strong collaboration between trustees, advisers and LDI managers fostering co-ordinated decision-making. 
• Effective liquidity planning, including the use of waterfall arrangements to manage collateral and cash flow needs. 
• Targeted training and support from investment advisors or fiduciary managers helping trustees to understand risks and interpret reporting effectively. 

Protecting members in uncertain market conditions 

The Bank of England and the IMF have this month warned of downside risks in the face of concerns about price appreciation in the tech sector, concerns about private credit and wider political instability.  

We expect all schemes to have high standards of investment governance so that they can make good decisions on behalf of savers. This includes understanding the risk exposure of underlying investments, assessing the potential impact of adverse market movements for different groups of members, and considering a range of opportunities when setting strategy. 

“Pension schemes play a vital role in securing long-term financial outcomes for savers. As long-term investors, they are inherently exposed to periods of market volatility and navigating this requires robust investment governance. 

Current global conditions continue to shape a complex and fast-evolving investment landscape. We expect trustees to maintain high standards of governance and risk management, ensuring they are well-positioned to respond to volatility and adapt to changing macroeconomic conditions.” 

Julian Lyne, Executive Director of Market Oversight (Interim), TPR 

Upcoming changes to the 2026 DB scheme return

The 2026 scheme return is coming soon for all eligible defined benefit (DB) and hybrid (mixed) benefit schemes.

We will be introducing two key updates to the 2026 DB scheme return:

Enhanced unquoted asset breakdown for Tier 3 schemes

 
Tier 3 schemes will be required to provide a more detailed breakdown of the unquoted/private equity asset class. This will include sub-categories such as venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure equity, along with a UK/non-UK split.

This change aligns with the government’s value for money and productive finance agenda which includes similar data collection for defined contribution schemes. Asking for this additional breakdown from the largest schemes will allow us to understand how the UK DB sector is contributing to growth, track how asset allocations and amounts change over time, and consider any system-wide effects.

Contingency planning for leveraged LDI arrangements

 
Following the Bank of England’s system-wide exploratory scenario (SWES) published in late 2024, we are seeking greater insight into how schemes with leveraged liability-driven investment (LDI) arrangements prepare for collateral calls under extreme market conditions. Schemes will be asked to provide details of pre-agreed asset sale plans, which may take the form of a single fund, a pre-defined portfolio, or a ranking structure (also known as a waterfall). They must also specify the asset classes they plan to sell, using the following categories:

• Money market funds
• UK investment grade corporate bonds
• Overseas investment grade corporate bonds
• Gilts
• Index-linked gilts
• Overseas government bonds
• Short-duration credit (including loans, high yield)
• Emerging market debt
• Diversified growth funds
• Absolute return funds
• UK equities
• Overseas/global equities
• Credit facility
• Other

Further details about the 2026 DB and hybrid scheme return will be shared in the coming weeks.

Automatic enrolment duties: employing staff for the first time

We’ve refreshed our tailored employer duties timeline.   

This will help you understand your clients’ automatic enrolment duties, what they need to do and when.  

Employers’ legal duties begin on the day their first member of staff starts work. This is known as their duties start date. Even if employers think they won't need to put staff into a scheme, they’ll still have duties.  

Annual TPR stakeholder perceptions report published

We commissioned an independent research agency to conduct qualitative research among our external stakeholders across the pensions industry. 

The annual research aimed to understand:  

1. Perceptions of TPR’s performance in the last 12 months, including perceived strengths and areas for improvement.
2. Attitudes toward TPR’s current focus areas and strategic vision, and what success looks like in these areas.   
3. Attitudes toward TPR’s enforcement approach and its recent initiatives on campaigns around pension scams.   
4. Attitudes toward the evolution of TPR’s regulatory approach with the wider pension industry.   
5. Views on the recent industry-level development and the future outlook.

View the full report PDF, 481KB, 13 page(s)

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