7 Days is a weekly round up of developments in pensions, normally published on Monday afternoons. We collate this information from key industry sources, such as the DWP, HMRC and TPR.
In this 7 Days
New identity requirements for corporate trustees
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced new requirements for company directors and other individuals to verify their identity. Details of the requirements were set out in regulations (published on 20 January 2025).
Companies House has published Rules and Guidance setting out the verification process.
From 8 April 2025, directors and PSCs can choose to verify their identity. Verification is due to become mandatory for all company directors and PSCs on incorporation and appointment from autumn 2025. There is expected to be a 12-month transition period for existing directors and PSCs, meaning they will be required to complete identity verification by autumn 2026.
Directors and PSCs who do not comply with the identify verification requirements will commit a criminal offence and/or could incur a civil penalty
See our hot topic for further details.
First pension provider connects to dashboards
On 17 April 2025, the PDP announced that the first pension provider had successfully connected to the pensions dashboards ecosystem in line with DWP connection guidance. This follows the three “volunteer participants” that connected in March 2025. More providers and schemes are currently in the pipeline for connection in April 2025 and the PDP is working with these volunteer participants to complete their connection journeys as soon as possible.
Not all volunteer participants will connect by the end of April. The PDP is working “closely” with the FCA and TPR who understand the position and have provided reassurance that they will take a “pragmatic approach”: “There will be no regulatory intervention at the current time for pension providers and schemes who are unable to meet their connect by dates in the guidance solely due to their dependence on a volunteer participant who has yet to connect”.
The PDP are planning to start user testing with the MoneyHelper pension dashboard in the summer.
