7 Days is a weekly round up of developments in pensions, normally published on Monday mornings. We collate this information from key industry sources, such as the DWP, HMRC and TPR.

In this 7 Days

TPR speech – “Time to Act”

In a speech published on 8 October 2026, Nausicaa Delfas, TPR’s CEO, emphasised that “now is the time” for trustees to act and take the decisions that will deliver sustainable income in retirement. Highlighting that “43% of working age people are heading for an insecure retirement”, Ms Delfas states that it is not too late to “course correct”, reiterating TPR’s goal of “fewer, larger, well-run schemes delivering security and value in a pensions system geared towards providing a sustainable income in retirement”.

For DB schemes, TPR expects trustees to take “decisions now on endgame”, considering if and how surplus plays a role. For DC, it means deciding whether the scheme is able to “meet the complex but necessary new requirements under the Pension Schemes Act”. With a “pipeline of likely applications” from prospective multi-employer CDC providers, TPR is also “keen to speak to potential providers of retirement CDC, and will continue to support innovation in this area”.

PDP launches its Dashboards Hub

PDP has launched its Dashboards Hub collating resources to support operational readiness, including an example user journey, research findings and details about the development of private sector dashboards.

TPO blog on its role and value

On 8 October 2026, TPO published a blog reflecting on its role to provide free, impartial and legally binding resolutions and its broader value. In the blog, TPR reflects on its progress and the rising demand for its services, noting that “eroding a historical backlog built up over several years will take time”.

PPI publishes latest DC Future Book

The PPI has published its latest edition of The DC Future Book. Key findings from this year’s edition include:

  • those currently aged 45-54 are estimated to have £63,000 in their DC pot at retirement, nearly 15% (£11,000) less than today’s 35-44 year olds, and 10% (£7,000) less than those aged 55-64
  • the median pot in DC schemes was £15,400 in 2025, “despite the substantial aggregate assets held across the DC system”, and
  • for the second year in a row, employees ineligible for AE outstripped those that were eligible, reaching 12 million and 11.45 million respectively.

The new PPI modelling comes as the Pensions Commission prepares to make recommendations to the Government on the broader questions of adequacy, fairness, and sustainability within the UK pensions system and the WPC is running an inquiry into AE reform. The Pensions Commission’s final report with recommendations is planned for spring 2027.