Pensions Regulator publishes overview of the UK’s occupational DC trust-based landscape

The Regulator’s annual report on the occupational DC trust-based landscape reports on the sector’s memberships and assets. 

The number of non-micro DC and hybrid schemes decreased by 11 per cent over the last year, whilst the number of members increased by 9 per cent. Master trusts continue to provide for the majority of DC members, with 84 per cent of DC or hybrid scheme memberships. 

Assets per member grew by 1 per cent in 2023, down from an annual growth of 10–20 per cent in assets per member in the previous three years. Overall, average assets per membership have fallen by 66 per cent since the beginning of 2012. The report also found that 99 per cent of memberships are in schemes that have been used for auto-enrolment, equating to 27 million out of 27.2 million.

The report shows that while DC pension scheme membership has soared, the average of savings values is reduced drastically. There are several possible reasons: the surge in membership numbers means average savings pot values is lower; impact of investment volatility over the past 12 months; members are likely to have more than one pension savings vehicle, thus bringing down the average value; and employers may have made their pension schemes less generous now they enrol more people.