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

FCA opens authorisation gateway for targeted support

On 2 March 2026, the FCA announced that firms can now apply for authorisation to offer targeted support. Firms with the appropriate authorisation will be able to offer targeted support from 6 April 2026, when the FCA’s final rules take effect (see our Hot Topic for further details). This marks “an important milestone” in the FCA’s work “to help consumers navigate their financial lives”.

TPR report on the evolution of DB schemes

On 4 March 2026, TPR published a report on the evolution of DB schemes. It sets out the conclusions from modelling TPR has undertaken to investigate how the occupational DB scheme universe may evolve over the next ten years. The analysis is based on deliberately broad assumptions, given the forthcoming changes introduced by the Pension Schemes Bill and the recent shift in DB scheme funding, with the majority of schemes having a “material surplus” on a low dependency and even a buy-out basis.

Some of the key conclusions are:

  • the insurance market would be able to absorb all schemes that may wish to buy out over the next decade, with some short-term pressures
  • over half of all schemes are expected to buy out, with the vast majority of these schemes being “small” schemes with assets under management of less than £100 million. However, there is likely to continue to be a “financially significant” DB sector
  • a meaningful superfund market can exist alongside the insurance market, and
  • over the next decade, the buy-out surplus is expected to increase to around £120 billion. TPR expects trustees and employers to engage with their advisers to assess the financial impact of run-on versus buy-out in order to develop a “surplus distribution strategy aligned with scheme objectives”.

TPR is also undertaking modelling of the occupational DC pension scheme landscape and intends to publish this DC analysis alongside DB modelling in the future.

TPR reviews decumulation products within DC occupational pension schemes

On 5 March 2026, TPR published its analysis of decumulation products in DC occupational pension schemes, based on data from the 2025 scheme returns. This is intended to provide a “baseline” of product offerings and usage patterns ahead of the introduction of the new guided retirement duty under the Pension Schemes Bill.

Key findings include:

  • UFPLS is the most prevalent of all decumulation products, with drawdown the second most available product
  • over half of schemes (57%) offer at least one decumulation product, but these are concentrated in larger schemes, and
  • the largest schemes are more likely to offer at least one regular income in-scheme product.

Trustees are urged to start getting ready for the Pension Schemes Bill by reviewing their decumulation offer. When designing decumulation products, TPR also asks trustees to recognise and respond to “predictable patterns of risk”, including career breaks and gaps in members’ contribution history.

PASA publishes guidance on trustee – administrator relationships

On 2 March 2025, PASA published guidance on why trustee – administrator relationships matter, highlighting why effective administration oversight is a core governance responsibility.

This is the first part of a new four-part series on trustees and administrators, in the context of “increasing regulatory expectations, operational complexity and sustained pressure on administration services”. It is intended to support “earlier, better informed conversations” and provide “a structured approach across the full lifecycle of the relationship”.

PDP blog on understanding pension status categories on the dashboard

On 5 March 2026, PDP published a blog outlining the three pension status categories that will appear on the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard:

  • confirmed pensions (those where a successful match has been made)
  • pending pensions (those where a successful match has been made, but not all the required pension information can be displayed yet because a provider or scheme needs more time to provide the data)
  • pensions that need action (either a possible match has been made and additional information is needed to verify it, or the pension provider or scheme has returned a code to indicate there has been a match, but the user should contact the provider or scheme before it provides the user’s pensions information).

PDP is continuing to test and refine how these categories are presented to “ensure they are as clear and intuitive as possible”, and that users understand what each category means and whether any action is required.

MaPS calls for pensions dashboard consumer testers

“Phase 2” of consumer testing of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard began on 2 March 2026, involving testing on users across a range of demographic groups and pension types. This testing is intended to support further improvements to the service before it becomes publicly available.

MaPS aims to involve individuals with different needs and is seeking support from the pensions industry to highlight to members the opportunity to test the dashboard. Organisations wishing to support MaPS in recruiting potential consumer testers can register via the PDP website.

Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 2026 published

The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 2026 aims to ensure that earnings factors relating to national insurance contributions for historic tax years, used in the calculation of GMPs, maintain their value in line with the increase in average earnings in England, Scotland and Wales. The Order comes into force on 6 April 2026.