Regulator urges "poorly performing" small DC schemes to consider winding up

The Regulator's latest compliance and enforcement bulletin for the period July to December 2024 confirms that it has now issued almost £100,000 in penalties to small DC schemes for governance failures related to the more detailed value for members assessment. The Regulator's research in 2021 showed just 17 per cent of schemes required to complete the assessment had done so, and 64 per cent were unaware of this statutory obligation.

This level of fines represents a significant increase from the first period of 2024, where schemes were fined £33,750 in relation to similar breaches.

The increase prompted the Regulator to issue a press release on April 3, 2025, urging trustees of such schemes to consider whether their members would be better off transferring to a larger scheme.