Regulating defined contribution pension schemes

Book excerpt: This report on the regulation of defined contribution pensions concludes that there is insufficient accountability to ensure that the regulatory system delivers value for money. The report highlights the taxpayer's substantial interest in the effectiveness of pension regulation. In 2010-11, tax relief for employer-sponsored defined contribution schemes amounted to an estimated £8.5 billion. The trend towards defined contribution schemes increases longer-term risks to the taxpayer, as members are on average likely to achieve considerably lower levels of retirement income than those with predominantly defined benefit pensions, and the state is ultimately liable for providing a basic income for the elderly. The Pensions Regulator regulates all work-based pension schemes and shares responsibility for regulating some of these schemes - so-called contract-based schemes - with the Financial Services Authority. The Regulator has adopted a sound approach of aiming to regulate in a targeted, proportionate and risk-based way, and that its evidence base is improving, as is the administration of schemes. However, The Pensions Regulator's current system of performance measurement does not make it possible to judge whether the Regulator is effective in protecting members' benefits, which is one of its strategic objectives. There is no single body leading on regulating schemes, setting objectives or measuring performance. The lack of a joined-up approach also means that there is insufficient basic information available about the market, such as definite numbers of scheme members or the levels of fees and charges they face.