The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said it is planning to “work more closely” with third-party administrators (TPAs) and has updated on recent progress in a blog published today (13 September).

The blog, written by TPR interim head of relationship supervision Cliodhna Judge, outlined how a recent pilot project on an ‘administrator relationships’ function has led to better engagement with TPAs.

The project, which has been running since early 2022, involved working with a voluntary administrator to “explore potential risk areas”, and identifying opportunities for development such as internal checking processes, an IT and technology plan, and better communications.

In the blog, Judge outlined how the “mutually beneficial” project enabled the regulator to develop its two-way relationships initiative, adding that it actively engages with around 10% of the administration market covering nine million members in more than 1,500 schemes.

Judge said key focus areas going forward include working on data quality, member engagement, dashboard preparedness, and “trustee focus, understanding and willingness to pay” as well as systems and processes.

Judge wrote while trustees are “the first line of defence for savers”, recent challenges including the pandemic, the dashboards project and the increase in cyber-attacks have highlighted the importance of effective administration and “good quality data”.

“Our insight into this important industry, and how it works with scheme trustees, is stronger than ever. We are innovating by using our successful supervision approach to establish open, two-way relationships with a number of strategically important pension administrators to understand the challenges and tackle the risks.”

“We’re tackling the risks of poor administration, driving up standards, promoting best practice (or identifying areas where guidance would support standards) and learning more about the core challenges and issues third party pension administrators handle on a regular basis. These include responses to cyber security incidents, resourcing issues, the recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce and the management of data quality.”

Commenting on TPR’s blog post, Broadstone head of pensions administration Gavin Giles said: “TPR’s note emphasises yet again how excellent administration can improve outcomes for members. Improving dialogue between administrators and trustees drives up standards of scheme governance which is crucial for acting as a first line of defence for members as well as enhancing data quality, engagement and dashboard readiness.

“We are glad that the regulator is banging the drum for administrators. Poor administration is a danger to member outcomes and the reputation of the industry so we must do all we can to ensure the highest standards are upheld across the industry.”

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