The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a trustee diversity and inclusion survey to help understand the current picture of trustees’ diversity and measure progress in promoting high standards of diversity and inclusion going forward.

All trustees of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) schemes will be eligible to take part in the anonymous online survey, with invites set to go to around 97,000 trustees and public service pension scheme board members "later this month".

In particular, the survey will look to understand the proportion of trustees with protected characteristics, their academic and socio-economic backgrounds and work experience, as well as trustees’ views on diversity and inclusion, in a measurable way to allow the regulator to detect changes in sentiment over time.

The survey will also seek to understand what diversity and inclusion data about trustees is being recorded by schemes and its intended use, and record the action being taken to ensure diversity and inclusion among trustees in their work.

In addition to this, it will look to measure awareness of TPR’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan.

TPR said that it expects to share results from the survey before the end of 2023.

The survey comes after research from the regulator revealed that most DC pension schemes did not formally capture diversity data in relation to their trustees, with less than one fifth (17 per cent) of schemes formally obtaining and recording any diversity data on their trustees.

The data most likely to be recorded was sex and age followed by ethnicity, disability and education, according to the regulator, although it found that very few schemes recorded data on religion/belief, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Commenting on the launch, TPR director of regulatory policy, analysis and advice, Louise Davey, said: “Diversity and inclusion is important to good governance and decision-making, and therefore in achieving good saver outcomes.

“This online survey will help us build a picture of trustees’ diversity so we can effectively measure our progress in promoting high standards of diversity and inclusion.”

Plans for the survey were previously confirmed at last month's Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) Investment Conference 2023, where Davey stressed the need to measure progress given recent diversity and inclusion efforts.

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