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UK pensions regulator orders 400 schemes to conduct data reviews within 6 months

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UK pensions regulator orders 400 schemes to conduct data reviews within 6 months

The U.K. Pensions Regulator mandated the trustee boards of 400 pension schemes to review their members' data records within six months, noting that they had not done so in the past three years.

The regulator is tightening its regulatory oversight, and the move is part of a drive to improve governance and administration in the sector. The trustees will be required to disclose how much accurate common and scheme-specific data they hold for their members. If they find poor-quality data they will be expected to create and submit a plan to rectify the issue.

Failure to comply with the notice will lead to a fine of approximately £5,000 for an individual and up to £50,000 in other cases. Improvement notices about inadequate internal controls could be another action in cases of compliance failures.

The regulator is contacting a total of 1,200 schemes to remind them to conduct yearly reviews of both common and scheme-specific data. It will also send communications to more than 1,000 schemes in 2019 related to issues around dividend payments to shareholders and the duration of recovery plans.

In the absence of accurate record-keeping, "trustees cannot ensure that savers will get accurate information or receive the pensions they are entitled to," David Fairs, the regulator's executive director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice, said.