The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has hired a “theme lead” to oversee its work on administration, pensions dashboards, and cybersecurity – three crucial areas for the industry watchdog.
Taylor Brightwell-Smith joined the regulator this week in the role, according to a post on LinkedIn.
He joins from the Government Actuary’s Department, where he worked for nearly four years as a pensions consultant. He previously spent seven years at Trafalgar House Pensions Administration and has also worked for Capita.
The appointment comes as TPR is working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on a potential new bill to grant the regulator formal oversight of administration providers.
Pensions Expert reported in August that the regulator and DWP had discussed the idea of a Pension Reform Bill, incorporating changes to TPR’s powers relating to professional trustees and administrators.
In a recent report on the state of the administration sector, TPR highlighted several areas for improvement, including problems in hiring and retaining administration staff, upgrading technology, and cybersecurity. It has urged trustees and administrators to work closely together to solve issues and “raise the profile of administration” as a vital part of the pensions system.
Meanwhile, Brightwell-Smith’s dashboards responsibilities come as there is less than a year to go until the statutory deadline for schemes to connect to the pensions dashboards ecosystem.
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) announced this week that approximately 75% of all records in the scope of the dashboards initiative had been connected. TPR has repeatedly urged pension schemes to prioritise their connections and not to delay, even if they are in the process of securing a buyout.
Pensions Expert Annual Conference: TPR and the dashboards dash
TPR’s chief executive Nausicaa Delfas will address the Pensions Expert Annual Conference at the Pennyhill Park Hotel on 26 November. She will outline the regulator’s work in 2025 and look forward to a pivotal year ahead for public and private sector pension schemes and service providers.
In addition, on 27 November, PDP principal Chris Curry will give an update on the dashboards initiative with testing now underway, and will join a panel discussion with LPPA chief finance officer Abigail Leech and independent consultant Richard Smith.
A small number of spaces are available for the two-day conference. To register, visit the dedicated webpage here. You can see the latest agenda here.
