Pensions Regulator urges DC trustees to respond to the FCA’s value for money consultation

The Regulator has explained in a blog published on August 29, 2024, why trustees of DC schemes must “seize this opportunity to shape one of the biggest revolutions in pensions policy since auto enrolment”.

The Regulator has been working with the Financial Conduct Authority on a value for money framework consultation for contract-based schemes, and the DWP has committed to introducing equivalent legislation for trust-based DC schemes in the upcoming Pension Schemes Bill. Trustees are encouraged to engage with the value for money consultation, which closes on October 17, 2024.

The value for money framework will require schemes to:

• Publicly disclose investment performance, charges and service quality data metrics, to facilitate market comparison and choice.
• Undertake a step-by-step assessment, with a traffic light system for reporting value for money.
• Take action as a result of their assessment to improve what they offer savers.

The Regulator will encourage master trusts and large single-employer schemes to adopt the framework early in order to shape the legislative regime that will follow in the Pension Schemes Bill.