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 tells small DC schemes to improve or consolidate if they cannot protect savers from climate change risks

TPR published its Climate adaptation report 2025 on 10 April 2025, which outlines the climate change risks relevant to UK schemes and the steps that TPR has been taking to raise standards of investment governance and systemic risk management.

There are “too many” DC schemes where the trustees’ knowledge of the scale of the financial risks posed by climate change is “limited”, and TPR is calling on these trustees to improve their knowledge or consider consolidating into a larger scheme.

TPR’s data shows that larger DC schemes are performing better than smaller DC schemes in relation to the governance of climate change risks. A recent survey showed that only 17% of DC schemes have dedicated time or resources to considering climate risk but that 100% of master trusts and 92% of large DC schemes have done so. Similarly, the results showed that respondents from larger DC schemes were more likely to understand the scale of the financial risks posed by climate change.

TPR will continue to educate and support trustees and enforce against those failing to meet statutory duties relating to climate change and ESG.

PASA publishes updated guidance on data readiness for buy-ins and buyouts

On 9 April 2025, PASA published an updated version of its guidance on data readiness for buy-ins and buyouts. It offers practical support for trustees and administrators and should be read in conjunction with PASA’s 2023 guidance. The new version offers a “deeper insight” into the data elements that insurers usually consider significant for ensuring a smooth and successful transition process. Insurers expect trustees to focus on providing data that is as complete, accurate and up to date as possible. The principles in the guidance can also be applied to schemes exploring alternative endgame options.

TPR and PSAG develop new AI tool to detect pension scam websites

TPR announced on 9 April 2025 that, together with the Pension Scams Action Group (“PSAG”), it has developed a new tool to detect scam websites using algorithms trained with real-world data. As part of its work so far, PSAG has reviewed 830 websites, removed 29 high-risk sites and made 94 referrals to partner agencies.

At a recent webinar, Chris Bell, Service Delivery Director at City of London Police, explained that a new reporting service, known as the new Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting and Analytics Service, will replace Action Fraud (where all scams must be reported to) later this year. This new system is intended to make “fundamental service improvements” to intelligence gathering and “speed up” the analysis of reports.

PLSA survey shows its members expect schemes to widely adopt AI by 2035

A recent PLSA survey has found that its members expect pension schemes to have widely adopted AI by 2035. The survey found that its members believe that AI can enhance member engagement and communication strategies (79%), detect and prevent fraud (75%), improve data security (72%), personalise retirement planning (63%) and allow customisation of investment strategies (59%).

Whilst the PLSA believes the “most compelling” use for AI within pensions is improving communication and engagement between pension schemes and their members, it has cautioned that adopting AI is not without risk. When using AI, pension schemes must adopt processes and strict protocols to mitigate the risk of data breaches, cyber-attack, regulatory non-compliance, financial loss and other saver harms.

TPR publishes short films in preparation for dashboards

TPR has published a series of short films as part of its campaign to get the pensions industry “dashboard ready”. The films are being shared on TPR’s social media channels and with industry stakeholders to maintain momentum as schemes prepare to connect.

While eight in 10 schemes say they are on track to connect to the dashboards ecosystem in line with DWP connection guidance, one in four still hold some form of non-digital dashboard data, and many schemes hold out of date information on the value of savers’ pensions. TPR will be “ramping up” its focus on data and is aiming to engage with schemes to understand the quality of their data in more depth later this year.

The first cohort of schemes is due to connect to the dashboards ecosystem this month, with all schemes needing to connect by the statutory deadline of 31 October 2026.