Industry experts have reported employer doubts over the effectiveness of the guidance guarantee, but have also predicted the service could act as a catalyst to review their financial education programmes.

By now, you'll have waded through all manner of 2014 round-ups, but what lies ahead for the pension trustee or scheme manager is certainly more pressing.

This year’s myriad pension changes must now be made to fit at a scheme level. The watchword for both defined contribution and defined benefit schemes this year is reform. 

Under this giant umbrella will include charge capping, the "freedom and choice" changes, and pot-follows-member pensions consolidation. Not to mention any potential regulatory twists coming from Europe. 

The DC freedom and choice flexibilities are set to keep scheme managers on their toes for some time to come – either because decisions are yet to be made on what flex to offer members and how to deliver it, or because they face being overwhelmed by members champing at the bit to get their hands on their pots.

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The pensions minister’s proposal to allow retirees to cash in annuities could suit defined benefit schemes eager to access the resultant long-term cash flows, but pricing “secondhand” annuities could be a sticking point.

Nobody understands it. It gives the greatest benefit to the wealthy. And it simply is not working as an incentive to get people saving into a pension. We are, of course, talking pensions tax relief.

This indictment is not new, but the issue has been edging up the political agenda and as the 2015 general election campaign kicks off, pensions minister Steve Webb will see it as a key piece of unfinished business ahead of a possible departure in May. 

The sense in offering tax relief is threefold: to incentivise workers and employers to contribute to a pension; to compensate people for locking away their cash; and to ensure they do not pay tax on the same income twice.

But the tool has often been criticised for being too complex – no matter how sweet the deal – and for delivering the greatest benefit to higher earners. 

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The latest revision of the European Commission pensions directive has removed a contentious requirement for trustees to have a "professional" qualification – reigniting debate in the industry on the merits of a minimum standard of training.

The Pensions Advisory Service has warned that scheme trustees and administrators risk being overwhelmed in April by members eager to access their savings at the earliest opportunity, having waited a year for the pension freedoms to come into play.

Pensions minister Steve Webb told an industry event this week the “pendulum is going to swing back” from individual defined contribution pension provision, but delegates challenged the viability of risk-sharing schemes.

Industry experts have predicted the governance focus for defined contribution default funds will swing from cost to performance as DC benchmarking capabilities come to the fore.

The Pensions Policy Institute has said higher statutory contribution levels for median-higher earners and more contribution-matching could improve retirement outcomes, but has received a mixed response including warnings of unintended consequences.