Kate Smith Head of pensions at Aegon: “As the pension market evolves, the Pensions Regulator’s focus and remit has to keep up with these changes. With new regulations and powers, the Pension Regulator is gradually changing its focus to one more of compliance and supervision, adopting the FCA’s approach. Bolstering its frontline staff with over half involved in trying to achieve better regulatory outcomes demonstrates increasing commitment to protect individuals’ pensions. The announcement that the regulator will be applying to the courts to seize assets where employers have failed to pay regulatory fines shows just how seriously it takes this.
“Rules are being tightened and the regulator is demonstrating it isn’t afraid of using its powers to be quicker and smarter in the way it protects pensions. Inevitably this will lead to higher regulatory costs both for the regulator and sponsors. We’re already seeing more of this as the master trust rules start to bite. The pension regulator is getting tougher, but the consequence of this is that pensions become safer, leading in turn to greater confidence and trust in pensions.”
PMI President Robert Branagh said: “Driving up standards of scheme governance is an objective we share with TPR, and we are keen to work constructively with the Regulator in improving standards of trustee education and training. We are also encouraged to see that specific regulatory initiatives have been introduced to address public concerns arising from pensions stories of the recent past. The protection of members’ benefits from both unscrupulous employers and fraudsters is a crucial objective and the Regulator is sending a reassuring message to the public in addressing these issues.”
Darren Redmayne, CEO of Lincoln Pensions, said: “The clearer, quicker, tougher message in the Pensions Regulator’s new Corporate Plan reflects how we have seen them operate on recent cases, with greater involvement and responsiveness. Both of these are very welcome. The Regulator is tasked with protecting member benefits while at the same time minimising any adverse impact on sustainable growth of sponsoring businesses. This necessitates a delicate balancing act - this corporate plan appears to be prioritising the protection of benefits which is good for members and potentially more challenging for sponsors.”
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