TPR: Time is running out to clean up your data
The Pension Regulator (TPR) has warned scheme administrators to make sure they deal with any data issues during the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) conference in the City of London this week.
The pensions watchdog said it was committed to working more closely with administrators and would be challenging schemes that did not measure or try to improve their data.
Louise Davey, interim head of TPR’s regulatory advice and analysis directorate, told delegates at the PASA conference that it was a critical time for the industry to work together.
Davey said trustees were the first line of defence for pension savers but that TPR had been working hard to build its relationships with administrators to get closer to the issues and better understand their challenges.
She said TPR’s quarterly forum for the largest third-party administrators had provided a “frank and open two-way conversation, enabling us to set clear expectations and understand the challenges they are facing”.
The role of administrators
TPR launched an administrator relationships team in January 2022, and was continuing to add relationships with more providers.
She said: “Though we have no formal instruction to regulate administrators, the work we have undertaken, and the approach we will be further developing underpins our view that good governance and administration are vital in delivering good outcomes for savers.”
Davey pointed to the cyber incident faced by Capita, which emerged in March 2023, citing it as “another good example of the critical role of administrators”.
Clean data and dashboards
Administrators were warned there was still much to do to get the quality of data where it needs to be in order for the introduction of pension dashboards.
Davey said the regulator would be “stepping up our focus in this space” this year, including with a regulatory initiative on data quality. This would involve “challenging schemes who are not measuring their data, or trying to improve it”, she said.
“Dashboards are set to be a game changer, and while there have been some stops and starts, it remains an ambitious and exciting initiative,” Davey added.
“It is critical for industry to work together to deliver the staged connection timeline. We do not want to reach October 2026 and find there is a bottleneck of schemes unable to meet the connection deadline.”
Davey said dashboards had the potential to change the lives of millions of UK savers: “There are an estimated 2.8 million lost pension pots worth nearly £27 billion. That’s hundreds, if not thousands of pounds, we could be putting back in people’s pockets.”
Davey concluded her address by mentioning the Value for Money framework.
She said: “There will be new tasks of administrators in relation to this.
“Admin is, after all, a prime example where it’s important to think about the quality of the service offered, not just the price. It’s all [aligned] with our thinking about the new asks and challenges of the developing market and needs of savers.”
Further reading
TPR: Why pension administrators are in the regulator’s sight (14 September 2023)
FCA opens dashboard consultation for comment (28 March 2024)