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

Finance Act 2026 paves the way for pensions IHT changes

The Finance Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026, containing provisions to change the IHT treatment of unused pension funds and death benefits from 6 April 2027. See our Alert for further details.

The new Act also updates a pre-existing regulation-making power in connection with the abolition of the LTA, extending the deadline for using it from 5 April 2026 to 30 June 2026. This is intended to allow additional time to make further technical amendments to the legislation which abolished the LTA.

TPR gives its overview of the DC landscape

On 17 March 2026, TPR published its annual overview of the occupational DC landscape. It is based on data collected through DC and hybrid scheme returns as of 31 December 2025.

The report shows a continuation of recent trends, including:

  • the number of DC schemes continues to decrease, with the reduction concentrated in smaller schemes of fewer than 5,000 members
  • DC scheme assets (excluding micro and hybrid schemes) increased by 22% to £249 billion in 2025
  • master trusts account for the majority of DC members, holding 30.1 million memberships and £208 billion in assets.

TPR expects that the changes introduced by the Pension Schemes Bill will increase the rate of these market movements. In a speech published on 20 March 2026, Nausicaa Delfas, TPR’s CEO, stressed that the UK pensions system is “entering a new era” and urged the industry to innovate to help deliver a system providing “long-term value for savers and a secure income at retirement”. This includes using AI responsibly, and TPR plans to publish an AI action plan outlining its approach in May 2026.

TPR evolves its approach to master trust regulation

TPR has also published a blog on its evolving approach to master trust regulation. This focuses on new guidance around regulatory capital reserving requirements, intended to “strip back unnecessary regulatory burden so that schemes can free up capital for productive use”. TPR plans to work with the DWP to identify potential alternative requirements and opportunities to update the legislation.

The blog outlines further upcoming changes for master trusts:

  • improvements to data collection via the scheme financial template (and associated guidance to completing it) during 2026, and
  • TPR will publish annual data on capital reserving practices from 2027.

PPF levy rules for 2026/27

On 18 March 2026, the PPF published its final rules for the 2026/27 levy year. Following the earlier announcement of a zero levy for conventional schemes for the second consecutive year, the rules focus on the Alternative Covenant Schemes levy.

The PPF has also published FAQs in relation to the zero levy. These set out changes to the information required to be submitted to the PPF. While all data submitted through Exchange will “continue to be valuable”, schemes may decide not to provide voluntary information outside of the scheme return where that information would previously have been submitted solely to obtain a PPF levy saving.

PASA publishes further guidance on trustee – administrator relationships

On 18 March 2026, PASA published the next instalment of its guidance on the trustee-administrator lifecycle, the third of a four-part series.

The guidance explores the considerations trustees may wish to address as a new administrator is being installed, to help establish operational foundations and ensure a smooth transition of services.

FCA and FOS consult on measures to modernise the redress system

Following feedback from industry and consumer groups to a November 2024 call for input and July 2025 consultation, the FOS and the FCA are seeking views on proposals to modernise the redress framework. Changes proposed to the FOS include:

  • a new registration stage to ensure that complaints referred to the FOS are within its scope and ready to be investigated before being allocated to a caseworker, and
  • new powers to dismiss complaints that are best resolved in other ways.

The consultation closes on 11 May 2026. Wider reforms to the FOS, following the Government’s review of the service in 2025, are expected to be introduced “when Parliamentary time allows”.

While many pensions complaints fall under TPO’s remit, the FOS looks at complaints about pensions providers and advisers that are regulated by the FCA. This can include complaints relating to personal pensions, transfers involving personal pensions, and AVCs.

Companies House WebFiling security issue

On 16 March 2026, Companies House published details of a security issue on its WebFiling service. The issue has since been resolved but could have resulted in unauthorised company filings and data not normally published on Companies House (such as residential addresses and company email addresses) being viewed by other logged-in WebFiling users.

Companies, including corporate trustees, are asked to check their registered details and filing history and report any concerns to Companies House.