Defined contribution schemes with assets below £100m will have to prove their value for members, or face being advised to wind up or consolidate, according to new rules proposed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

On the go: The government has been urged to look again at a ‘pot-follows-member’ solution to the small pots problem plaguing auto-enrolment and master trusts.

On the go: Local Government Pension Scheme administering authorities and employers are to be given a host of new powers, as well as flexibility on exit payments, the government has announced.

On the go: The aggregate deficit of the 5,422 defined benefit schemes in the Pension Protection Fund 7800 Index fell by £59bn in August.

The Universities Superannuation Scheme has launched a consultation with employers over its 2020 valuation, which at worst could present a £17.9bn deficit. But it faces a fight with the Universities and College Union, which said it had no confidence in the “needlessly cautious” approach taken by the USS.

On the go: The Pensions Regulator has announced it is attempting to recoup £250,000 from a convicted fraudster.

The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is only the latest in a long line of structural challenges the master trust industry must face in coming years, according to a new report from the Pensions Policy Institute.