White paper: Future of trusteeship and governance consultation

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has outlined proposals to improve the governance of occupational pension schemes to ensure better outcomes for savers.

The Regulator believes that by providing excellent standards there will be fewer, but better governed schemes in the market. Savers will then benefit from more efficiently run schemes, with the right people in place to make better investment decisions.

The consultation looks at three areas which it hopes will help to drive up standards:

1. Trustee knowledge and understanding, skills and ongoing learning and development: whether trustees have the right knowledge and is it maintained.
2. Scheme governance structures for effective decision-making: how boards could become more diverse and how they can demonstrate that they have the right mix of skills, knowledge and understanding for running the scheme
3. Driving DC scheme consolidation: schemes that are unable to meet the standards of trusteeship and governance will need to improve, face enforcement action or be actively encouraged to wind up. TPR is looking at how to remove barriers to consolidation, to ensure more savers have access to well-run schemes.

The consultation closes on 24 September 2019.