Low awareness of new value for member requirements amongst small defined contribution (DC) pension schemes suggests greater prioritisation is needed from The Pensions Regulator (TPR), RSM UK has said.

The comments were made after TPR's DC survey revealed that 70 per cent of micro schemes and 58 per cent of small schemes were unaware of new value for member assessments.

In light of this, RSM UK argued that greater prioritisation is needed from TPR to protect DC members’ pensions and support trustees, raising concerns that any delay in enhancing the governance framework could mean DC members are left with "very little" given the current economic turbulence.

RSM UK pensions audit partner, Karen Tasker, commented: "The risk of DC members losing their investment to fraud or scams in a poorly run scheme, or not achieving the maximum investment returns, is likely to be higher in smaller schemes than in large ones, which are more likely to have strong internal controls in place.

"The lack of awareness of the new value for member assessments among smaller schemes is worrying, and suggests that the regulator should now be looking to prioritise this segment to protect pensions.

‘If TPR uses its enforcement policy the burden on trustees is diminished. This needs to happen now, but delays on the General Code, Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code, and pensions dashboard means it looks unlikely there will be much appetite to address this in the short term, so DC members could lose out.

‘In the current unstable economy, any delay in enhancing the governance framework, particularly the value for member assessment, could mean DC members are left with very little if the investment governance is poor.

"In an environment where living costs are rising rapidly, these small DC schemes could hold vital security for some members.’

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