A new service has been launched by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to help support innovation in savers' interests and potentially boost economic growth.
The service aims to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to pensions innovation by enabling early transparent discussions with pensions innovators.
TPR will focus efforts on two areas of innovation in particular: administration and member experience, particularly in the decumulation phase; and investment and new scheme models.
Improving data quality is the first step towards delivering innovation and is a key regulatory priority for TPR.
The new support service will offer the following.
- Discussion sessions: allowing innovators to discuss the early stages of developing a new pensions idea or solution with one of our experts. This informal first stage can support innovation development and how we might need to regulate it.
- Collaborative events: allowing pension innovators to make connections across the industry. TPR’s research shows that pension innovators have key challenges that are shared across industry which can be tackled collaboratively.
- Thought leadership: user testing found that blogs, reports and information on good practice in pensions innovation were popular as they explain TPR’s stance on areas such as targeted pensions support and guided retirement.
- Cross-government working: to avoid duplication, TPR and FCA will work closely together to give pensions innovators access to the FCA’s own innovation test service.
- Support for emerging models: while TPR already supports new pensions models, such as superfunds, it will streamline the process for supporting other emerging models.
To access the service, including resources and details of upcoming events, go to get support with pensions innovation.
Nausicaa Delfas, Chief Executive of TPR said:
"Our new innovation support service will provide an environment for innovators from across industry to collaborate and test their ideas, streamline our approach and reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers."
Notes for editors
- Anyone interested in attending TPR’s first event on 4 June can register interest by emailing innovation@tpr.gov.uk.
- TPR’s innovation focus areas:
- Membership and administration, particularly in the decumulation phase: this could include new member communications, apps and better customer service, and new guided retirement products to help savers in the decumulation phase.
- Investment and new scheme models: examples could include superfunds, master trusts, collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, and other new consolidator models which benefit the saver.
- TPR protects savers’ money, helps to enhance the pensions system and supports innovation in the interests of savers.
- TPR is the regulator of work-based pension schemes in the UK. Its statutory objectives are to:
- protect members’ benefits
- reduce the risk of calls on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
- promote, and to improve understanding of, the good administration of work-based pension schemes
- maximise employer compliance with automatic enrolment duties
- minimise any adverse impact on the sustainable growth of an employer (in relation to the exercise of the regulator’s functions under Part 3 of the Pensions Act 2004 only)
Press contacts
Out of hours
This is for journalists only with a media enquiry. The below number will divert to our on call media officer.pressoffice@tpr.gov.uk
01273 648496
