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

TPR updates guidance on third-party applications

On 7 May 2025, TPR updated its guidance for third-parties (such as trustees and sponsoring employers) making applications to TPR for it to use its powers, including the power to:

  • appoint an independent trustee
  • extend a deadline for a CETV, and
  • revoke a prohibition order.

The guidance includes links to application forms and explains the roles of the applicant, TPR’s case team and the Determinations Panel (a separate committee which decides on the use of TPR powers). It also highlights that it is the applicant’s responsibility to prove that the relevant power should be used. The guidance should help applicants know what information to supply so that their applications can be assessed “as swiftly and effectively as possible”.

PASA publishes dashboards connection “toolkit” for schemes with split administration

PASA has published a toolkit to help schemes with more than one administrator, including schemes with separate AVC providers, connect to the dashboards ecosystem. All parts of a scheme should connect on the same date. Where a scheme is unable to connect all parts at the same time, this will be a breach of legislation and efforts should be made to connect any remaining parts “at the earliest opportunity”. Trustees should follow TPR’s breach of law guidance to consider whether they need to report such a breach.  However, TPR will not normally consider a breach to be materially significant if “prompt and effective action” is taken to connect the rest of the parts by the overall connection deadline of 31 October 2026.

For further information on what trustees should be doing to prepare, and what schemes should do if they won’t meet their “connect by” date, see our hot topic.

PDP publishes data protection impact assessment

The PDP has published a data protection impact assessment (“DPIA”) on the processing of personal data needed to build and maintain the central digital architecture and related services that make dashboards possible and connect providers and schemes to the dashboards ecosystem. It should help trustees with preparing their own DPIAs for dashboards, in line with TPR’s guidance.

The DPIA does not cover the MoneyHelper dashboard, which will be addressed by a separate DPIA.

SPP publishes paper on implications of US tariffs

The SPP has published a paper on the implications of the recently announced US import tariffs for the UK pensions industry. It notes that reactive changes to pensions are “generally not ideal compared with keeping a cool head and planning carefully” and that the tariffs might impact sponsoring employers’ covenants.