TPR lead reviewer appointed
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the appointment of Mary Starks to lead a review of the Pensions Regulator.
Public bodies such as TPR expect to be reviewed during each parliament.
This has never been as important. Over the next year or so, the two regulators need to work together
“Mary Starks has a background working in the regulatory sector and with public bodies, which will help her to deliver effective recommendations.”
Regulatory pedigree
Starks is currently a partner with consultancy Flint Global, covering competition and regulation across tech, financial services and energy sectors.
She was previously an executive member of the board and director of competition and chief economist at the Financial Conduct Authority.
She also served as an executive director of energy regulator, Ofgem, where innovation and customer behaviour were among her responsibilities.
Starks said of her appointment as TPR lead reviewer: “I am delighted to be appointed to lead this review.
“The Pensions Regulator plays a vital role protecting the interests of savers and ensuring employees benefit from workplace pensions.
“As well as drawing on my own regulatory experience, I look forward to hearing from stakeholders from across the pensions sector and working closely with the teams at DWP and TPR.”
One of the aims of the lead review will be to identify, where possible, efficiency savings of more than five percent.
Important task
Rachel Vahey, head of policy development at AJ Bell, commented on the review: “The Pensions Regulator has an important task in making sure workplace pension schemes are operating in the best way possible for pension scheme members; protecting their savings and helping them to achieve a better financial later life.
"TPR has to oversee both defined benefit and defined contribution plans.
“It has to make sure it works closely with its sister regulator the FCA. There are many instances where the two cross paths, and it is up to both bodies to work closely together to design a robust and consistent regulatory framework, which works well on both sides of the regulatory fence.
"However, there have been instances where it has not always been the case — for example when designing a framework for stronger nudges to guidance, where we have different requirements for personal and workplace pensions.”
Vahey identified illustrations for pension schemes as a case in point, where the FCA oversees point of sale documents, but the DWP regulates illustrations that are included in annual statements.
This leaves two separate systems using different methodologies and assumptions to calculate illustrations to forecast the future value of an individual’s pension policy.
“This is clearly unhelpful for consumers, who need extra layers of pension complexity like a hole in the head,” she said.
Vahey added: “This has never been as important. Over the next year or so, the two regulators need to work together to develop a value-for-money framework for all pension plans, and roll out the implementation of pensions dashboards. And all against the background of a cost-of-living crisis.”
Minister for pensions, Laura Trott, has requested that Starks’s report be delivered in May 2023.