Pension scheme trustees and sponsors are divided on the extent to which the Autumn Statement pension reforms will benefit members or impact scheme strategy, research from XPS Pensions Group has revealed.

The polling found that 24 per cent of respondents expected the changes to benefit both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) members, while 28 felt neither would benefit and 28 per cent said that they ‘don’t know’.

In addition to this, nearly a fifth (17 per cent) thought that only DC members would benefit, while just 3 per cent said only DB members would benefit.

The pot for life proposals received a particularly mixed reception, as trustees and sponsors were evenly split on the question of whether the government should pursue the plan, with 52 per cent saying they should and 48 per cent saying they shouldn’t.

XPS Pensions Group head of DC, Sophia Singleton, highlighted this divide as evidence of the need for a "full and proper debate involving all stakeholders", welcoming the Department for Work and Pensions’ call for evidence as a "starting point" for this conversation.

The impact of some of the proposals has already been seen, however, as the research found that a significant minority (28 per cent) of respondents are now considering running their DB scheme on for surplus, following the new that the government would be looking to consult on plans to relax DB pension surplus rules.

Despite this growing support, the polling found that buyout remains the most popular endgame strategy, with 67 per cent of respondents saying they would pursue that path even if the Chancellor’s proposed reforms go ahead.

Furthermore, there was limited appetite to enter into a consolidation scheme managed by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), with only 3 per cent of respondents identifying this as their preferred strategy if the reforms went ahead.

Commenting on the findings, XPS Pensions Group partner, Wayne Segers, stated: “Whilst it’s not surprising that buyout remains the most popular endgame strategy for DB schemes, we are seeing more employers and trustees explore running their schemes on safely for surplus.

“This can have a substantial positive impact on DB members, employees’ workplace pensions and employers’ businesses.

“What we hope to see is a consultation that looks not only at appropriate funding levels and managing risk, but also how legislation and regulatory guidance can properly support trustees who are being asked to manage schemes to run on for surplus.”

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