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

Pension Schemes Bill in “ping pong”

The Pension Schemes Bill returned to the House of Lords again on 22 April 2026 for consideration of the House of Commons’ amendments in “ping pong”, a process where the Bill goes back and forth between each House until its wording is agreed. Outstanding issues include the scale and asset allocation requirements for DC master trusts and GPPs used for automatic enrolment. The House of Lords again voted to remove the mandation power from the Bill.

The Bill will be considered by the House of Commons today, 27 April 2026.

Updated TPR dashboards guidance and other dashboards news

On 23 April 2026, TPR published a blog exploring scheme readiness for the next step of dashboards, alongside a market oversight report on preparations by large schemes. Finding that “while significant progress has been made to improve data quality for dashboards, readiness is uneven”, TPR encourages schemes to “keep up the momentum, focus on value data and embrace the opportunities to learn from user testing”. Trustees are expected to have regular progress reports from their administrators, AVC providers and dashboard connection providers, and to resolve any issues identified.

TPR has also updated its pensions dashboards guidance to incorporate “best practice insights”. It provides new checklists which schemes can use to track the progress of preparations, both before and after connecting.

The next phase of TPR’s work will target DB and hybrid schemes, as these are “most likely to have out of date value data”. TPR expects to reach out to a sample of these schemes next month to understand how they are preparing the data.

In other dashboards news, the PMI has published its 2026 Pensions Dashboards Guide which also aims to support schemes with dashboards preparation, including practical insights into data quality, matching, governance, member engagement and the long‑term impact dashboards are expected to have on the UK pensions system.

TPR appoints new Chair

On 21 April 2026, the DWP announced the appointment of Emma Douglas as the new Chair of TPR. Her five-year term begins on 1 July 2026, when current Interim Chair Kirstin Baker steps down.

HMRC update on transitional regulations for NMPA increase

On 23 April 2026, HMRC published pension schemes newsletter 180. This gives some “early background” about the intended scope and effect of the transitional regulations that will support the implementation of the NMPA increase from age 55 to age 57 on 6 April 2028, following HMRC’s update on the regulations in February 2026.

The regulations will address issues where members have already become entitled to their pension benefits but have not reached age 57 by 6 April 2028 and do not have a protected pension age. The aim is to ensure that such members can continue to receive their benefits as authorised payments “seamlessly”, in a similar way to the transitional provisions related to the increase in NMPA from 50 to 55 from 6 April 2010. The newsletter gives worked examples relating to pension payments and lump sums, along with details about the treatment of transfers of pensions in payment and payments made from certain overseas schemes.

The information given by HMRC in the newsletter remains subject to change as the regulations are finalised ready for technical consultation.

PASA guidance on default retirement solutions

On 23 April 2026, PASA published new guidance exploring the “once-in-a-generation” operational challenges facing administrators as default retirement solutions are introduced. It focuses on the practical steps needed to prepare, highlighting the scale of change required across systems and the importance of early planning and industry collaboration.

TPO update regarding McCloud complaints

On 22 April 2026, TPO published an update on its approach to McCloud age discrimination complaints following the Court of Appeal’s 2018 judgment. In that case, the Court of Appeal held that the transitional provisions which were put in place as part of reforms to both the Judicial and Firefighters’ Pension Schemes constituted unlawful direct age discrimination.

This update builds on TPO’s information sheet on McCloud and Sargeant complaints, published in July 2022, prior to the roll-out of the McCloud remedy. It outlines TPO’s developing approach and what it expects of schemes.

It also explains that TPO is currently identifying cases suitable for “significant Determinations” which set out TPO’s position on key issues affecting several members across several schemes. Those Determinations act as guides and can inform the approach schemes should take in resolving similar complaints internally. Once these are issued, the information sheet will be updated and further commentary may follow.

PPI launches lost pensions survey

The PPI has launched its Lost Pensions 2026 survey which has expanded to include DB providers for the first time. With measures to consolidate deferred small pots included in the Pension Schemes Bill, the survey looks at the scale and value of lost pension pots as well as aiming to explore the underlying causes and their implications for policy and member outcomes. It closes on 26 June 2026.