Here is our weekly summary of key legal and regulatory developments relevant to occupational pension schemes that you might have missed, with links for further information.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced that the 2027/2028 levy will be set at zero for conventional defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The 2027/2028 levy in respect of alternative covenant schemes (superfunds) will also be set at zero for one year only while the PPF completes its review of the methodology for alternative covenant schemes.
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) Dashboards Working Group considers that the efficient and effective resolution of “possible matches” is critical to the success of pensions dashboards. PASA’s latest guidance recommends a principles-based approach, which should be monitored and refined as experience evolves.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance to help trustees identify and manage potentially hidden artificial intelligence (AI) investment exposure. TPR considers this to be an emerging risk. Ben Gunnee, Executive Director of Market Oversight at TPR, said: “trustees should assess their AI-related exposure, test portfolio resilience and challenge advisers now to understand how market developments could affect their investments under different market conditions.” The guidance sets out actions that TPR expects trustees to take.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Pensions UK have published their first progress update 2026 in relation to the Mansion House Accord. The accord represents a voluntary commitment by 17 organisations and workplace pension providers to hold a minimum 10% allocation to private markets across all main default funds in defined contribution (DC) schemes by 2030, with at least 5% of the total going to UK private markets. The update reveals that Mansion House Accord signatories held £22.1 billion DC growth-phase assets in global private markets, with £11.1 billion in UK private markets, as of 31 December 2025. This equates to 6.6% of DC growth-phase assets invested in private markets, with 3.3% in the UK. The update highlights concerns among the signatories that while the UK pipeline is improving, uncertainty remains over whether it will provide sufficient investable opportunities to support the accord’s ambitions. “The challenge is to increase both the quantity of opportunities, and ensure they are of sufficient quality, scale and value to support long-term member outcomes.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a call for evidence on state pension deferral. Depending on the applicable rules and an individual’s circumstances, deferring state pension may result in a higher weekly state pension when it comes into payment. The aim of the call for evidence is to understand how the current arrangements work in practice and identify matters that may warrant further consideration. Any submissions should be made by 11:59pm on 1 December 2026.
TPT Retirement Solutions (TPT) has announced that its new defined benefit (DB) superfund has successfully followed TPR’s assessment process and can now progress its first transactions. TPT says its superfund is “designed to run on and uses a longer-term and diversified investment approach to create additional value over time, which is intended to be shared with members.” This offers a new alternative for DB schemes where buy-out is not a viable option.
Our Labour and Employment colleagues remind us of the strengthened duties on employers to prevent harassment from 30 October 2026. Employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and harassment of employees by third parties. There is little practical guidance on this, and regulations are lagging behind – we have therefore updated our Relatively Informal Guide to include sensible assumptions about the direction of travel, to provide a useful practical start point.
If you would like specific advice on any of these issues or anything else, please contact a member of our Pensions team.
