Pensions Age Magazine

Pension and financial services firms have improved how they monitor and report customer outcomes under the Consumer Duty, but many still need to strengthen their outcome monitoring, governance and oversight, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Under the duty, firms must produce an annual board report setting out what their monitoring has revealed about customer outcomes when they buy financial products, and what actions they will take as a result.

UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are increasingly moving away from buyout as the default endgame, although many have yet to establish the governance frameworks needed to manage future surplus, according to data from Independent Governance Group (IGG).

New guidance containing a practical framework for assessing, calculating and maintaining Contingent Spouse Pension (CPS) values has been published by the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA). The guidance focused on the role data quality plays in CPS construction in ensuring accurate and reliable outcomes.

Fraud minister, Lord Hanson, has urged trustees and pension providers to use “every touchpoint” with savers to help protect them from scams, as part of a renewed push to combat pension fraud. Speaking at the Pension Scams Action Group’s (PSAG) Fighting Pension Fraud webinar 2026, Hanson called on trustees and administrators to take every opportunity to reinforce scam awareness messaging among members.

The government has overturned a series of House of Lords amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill, with MPs voting to reinstate key provisions, including the controversial ‘mandation’ power, during Commons consideration on 15 April. Speaking during the debate, Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, reiterated the government’s rationale for retaining the reserve power, arguing that it was needed to address a “collective action problem” in pension investment.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is taking enforcement action against Hartley Pensions Limited and an unnamed individual. Hartley Pensions was a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator authorised and regulated by the FCA. It also provided administration for a small number of small self-administered schemes (SSAS), regulated by The Pensions Regulator. Hartley Pensions entered administration at the FCA's request in 2022.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a series of follow-up letters as part of its ongoing scrutiny of Capita's management of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS). The correspondence follows earlier warnings from the PAC that Capita may not have been ready to take over administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) from MyCSP.

Over a third (36 per cent) of people who changed jobs over the past five years failed to ask about the workplace pension during the hiring process, new research from M&G has found. This was despite 22 per cent rating the pension scheme as the most influential benefit when deciding whether to accept a role, the third most popular choice after salary and flexible working.

Unstable UK market conditions have turned defined benefit (DB) transfer redress calculations into a “lucky dip”, according to analysis from First Actuarial. The firm found that volatility during March could have led to daily variations of between 5 and 10 per cent in pension redress calculations, driven by the sensitivity of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s prescribed methodology to prevailing market conditions.

Market volatility has impacted XPS Group’s Transfer Value Index through the first quarter of 2026, with values peaking at £146,000 in mid-February before falling back after markets reacted to the conflict in the Middle East. This is in contrast to the final quarter of 2025, when DB transfer values stabilised as gilt yields settled. Despite the swings, the index still ended March at £142,000 – its highest quarter-end level in a year.