The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a revised 15-year Corporate Strategy that sets out its blueprint of future pensions regulation, aiming to “make workplace pensions work” for savers.

TPR said that the revised strategy reflected a “fundamental shift” in pension saving and will also focus on the short-term challenges posed by Covid-19 recovery.

The strategy sets out five ‘priorities’ that the regulator will “immediately start to deliver”.

These include the primary goal of protecting pension savers’ investments, which includes working to ensure defined benefit (DB) schemes are funded and can continue to rely on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), driving consolidation where it is in savers’ best interests, quick intervention when contributions are not paid by employers, and protecting savers from scammers and cyber-related risks through collaboration with partner agencies.

The regulator will also work to ensure that savers get good value for their money through suitable investments and reasonable costs, efficient administration and working with regulatory partners to ensure good practice.

Alongside this, it will be publishing a discussion paper to assess value for money for savers.

Ensuring decisions made on behalf of savers is in their best interests was also outlined as a priority, with the regulator expecting increased transparency and increasing its focus on managing savers’ exposure to economic risks, including developing a new climate change strategy.

It will encourage innovation and collaboration from the pensions industry, and aim to ensure that TPR is a “bold and effective regulator”.

“Today we launch the strategy for our future, putting the saver at the heart of all that we do, with a clear roadmap of how we will deliver effective change on the ground to enhance and protect workplace pensions now and in the years to come,” said TPR chief executive, Charles Counsell.

“Millions of savers rely on pensions to replace income in later life. So as a regulator, we are squarely focused on protecting savers’ pensions in the short and long term. That remains our core aim. But we must also adapt to a rapidly changing pension landscape and plan for the future.

"As defined contribution (DC) saving becomes the norm for millions, we must strive for better security for savers, better value for money and a determination to embrace innovation so that savers can better understand their retirement outcomes.

“We will now begin putting our strategy into practice through our corporate planning process, clearly demonstrating that our new corporate priorities will underpin all the work we do.”

TPR’s strategy also aims to “carefully balance” its focus between DB and DC pensions.

Other changes in the strategy include a “firmer recognition” of savers’ interest in investment decisions aligned with their values, increased emphasis on protecting and enhancing outcomes for “all kinds” of savers, and new graphics and forecasts on how the shift towards DC will evolve.

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