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

HMRC guidance on changes to IHT treatment of pensions

On 11 May 2026, HMRC published a technical note providing further detail about the pensions IHT changes. The note explains how the legislation will operate in practice, including how pension benefits in scope will be identified, valued and allocated to beneficiaries and who is responsible for reporting and paying any IHT due. It also outlines the proposed approach to information sharing and tax collection.

Regulations will set out the information-sharing requirements needed to facilitate the tax change. These are expected to be finalised later this year after a “short technical consultation” in spring 2026. HMRC aims to provide further tools and guidance on the changes ahead of implementation in April 2027 and will continue to publish clarifications “as needed”.

Pensions dashboards updates

Building on its recent market oversight report and updated pensions dashboards guidance, TPR has launched a regulatory initiative to assess how DB and hybrid pension schemes are preparing to meet their dashboard duties, with a particular focus on the readiness and accuracy of value data. TPR intends to use insights from this work to help inform discussions on the timing of the launch of the MoneyHelper dashboard.

The PDP expects the dashboard to be available to the public in the financial year 2027/28, and will provide an update on launch plans around the time of 31 October 2026 connection deadline.

TPR consults on its corporate strategy

On 11 May 2026, TPR published its draft corporate strategy for consultation, setting out how it will “navigate the next five years in the context of a rapidly changing pensions market”.

TPR intends to take a “forward looking, innovative and system-wide approach to regulation”, “looking beyond the accumulation of savings in a pension pot, to the outcomes that people experience throughout retirement”.

The draft consultation includes a focus on the new VFM framework as a “market shaping tool” which TPR intends to use in “raising standards, identifying where schemes fall short, and accelerating consolidation or exit where required to protect members’ interests”.

The consultation closes on 8 June 2026.

SPP paper on the future of the PPF

The SPP has published a paper, “From Lifeboat to Legacy: What Next for the £14bn PPF Reserves?”, which explores the legal framework around the PPF, the factors that contribute to its financial strength and the options that could be considered for the future use of its reserves in the current DB funding environment.

New PPF Chair appointed

On 13 May 2026, the PPF announced the appointment of Joanne Segars as the new Chair of the PPF from  1 July 2026.