Clear and not misleading

CDC code in force: 31 July 2026

1. The law requires that any promotion and marketing must not be unclear or misleading without rectifcation¹. Whilst the promotion or marketing will only extend to employers who are considering joining or remaining within the scheme, given the novel features of a CDC arrangement we expect all promotional or marketing materials to be written in a way that can be easily understood by the target audience. This may include making them accessible in other formats if employers have specific needs (for example, in braille or larger font).
2. Additionally, employers may want to reproduce some of the material in communications to their members. Where this happens, the scheme proprietor should make reasonable efforts to ensure that any such communication complies with these principles.
3. As part of the authorisation process, we will expect you to send us copies of promotional or marketing material that has been approved for use to induce prospective employers to join the scheme. As an example, representative examples of materials for proposed campaigns at launch would satisfy this requirement.
4. Here is a list of evidence you can provide to show scheme promotional or marketing material is clear, not misleading and meets regulatory requirements. 

Evidence showing clear promotional or marketing material

5. Material is written and formatted in plain English with no jargon, and use of appropriate graphics and takes into account the needs and nature of the intended audience.
6. Terms are clearly defined where appropriate (if some industry terms need to be included you should consider adding a glossary to the item).
7. Where the material is part of a suite of documents, this is clearly pointed out to the reader, and they are clearly signposted to other documents they should read before making a decision.
8. Material is clearly marked to show that it is not for individual/member use.
9. Any omission that means the item is not clear must be identified and included.

Evidence showing promotional or marketing material is not misleading

10. The material is appropriately balanced – setting out the key benefits and risks associated with the scheme and accurately reflects the terms of the scheme as per the viability report and actuarial certification.
11. Items include details of any compensation arrangements that would be available to scheme members if the scheme were to fail.
12. Appropriate risk warnings are prominently contained within the documents.
13. The material must not describe a feature of the scheme as ‘guaranteed’, ‘protected’ or ‘secure’ or use a similar term unless it is able to provide a clear and not misleading description of it (for example, scheme documentation is sufficiently clear and prominently displays the relevant information that makes these statements clear and not misleading).
14. Evidence that the content has been reviewed to check that it is not misleading by appropriate advisers before being sent for approval. This would likely include legal and actuarial advice.
15. Evidence that the material is consistent with scheme documentation, such as the viability certificate and any other documentation which shows how benefits are accrued and paid.
16. Any claims within the material are appropriately substantiated and a copy of the relevant substantiation is kept on the approval file.
17. Where relevant, the actuarial assumptions used to show benefit levels are included in the material and are communicated in a clear and not misleading way and are also kept on the approval file.
18. Any omission that means the item is misleading must be identified and included.

Evidence showing promotional or marketing material meets all regulatory requirements

19. Evidence that the approvals process ensures all items are compliant with all other regulatory requirements, including the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), FCA etc. Having an approvals checklist is one way of ensuring this.

Legal reference

¹ Section 9 of the Pension Schemes Act 2021

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