PENSIONS ACT 2004
Synopsis: The TPR have issued a standard governance statement to help Trustees evidence good quality DC pension schemes.
Date posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a standardised Defined Contribution governance statement to help Trustees in their quest for good governance.
The governance statement should be used to:
- Confirm that the scheme complies with the requirements of the regulator’s DC code of practice, guidance and in particular that it exhibits the quality features.
- Explain where the scheme has adopted a different approach where a quality feature is absent or partly in place.
- Set out what action the trustees intend to take to correct the position where a feature is absent or improve an existing feature.
To help trustees to complete the governance statement accurately, the regulator has also published a template to enable them to assess their scheme against the regulator’s DC quality features. The template, which can be adapted according to individual scheme needs, can also be used to monitor plans to improve scheme features to a ‘best practice’ or ‘exemplar’ level. This is intended as a tool to help trustees and does not need to be published, but the regulator would expect the information to be available to employers, members and to the regulator upon request to show how they meet the quality features.
Andrew Warwick-Thompson, executive director for DC, governance and administration, said:
‘We’re providing DC trustees with the tools they need to demonstrate to employers and retirement savers that they are running a quality scheme, capable of delivering good outcomes for members. We expect trustees to be able to show that their scheme meets the standards set out in our code and guidance – most trustees want to do right by their scheme members, and this tool will enable them to demonstrate that they are doing their job properly.
‘The templates will help trustees to keep on top of their systems and controls, to monitor risks and to prioritise actions for the year ahead – enabling schemes to identify and take action to remedy any issues and, ultimately, improve retirement outcomes for DC pension scheme members.’
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