A summary of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) Board meeting in May 2023.
Apologies, welcomes, declarations of conflicts of interest
Kirstin Baker took the chair and welcomed everyone to the meeting, including the author of the Public Bodies Review of TPR, the CEO of the Pensions Protection Fun and the chair of the TPR Determinations Panel. Apologies had been received from Sarah Smart and George Walker. No declarations of interest had been received. External attendees had received packs with UPSI information redacted and they would be asked to recuse themselves for any discussion of that item.
Chair's update
The Chair reported that the non-executive committee had reviewed a Board and committee members skills audit, ahead of ensuing consideration by Remuneration and People Committee and then Board.
A six-monthly stakeholder update containing feedback from panels and other key engagement had been sent to Board for information on 27 April.
CEO Report
The CEO presented her first report to the Board, which noted a number of current and upcoming issues for TPR and operational challenges, and summarised top risks and risks out of appetite (OOA).
It was noted that the PCS union had voted to strike on pay.
The Board received a non-UPSI verbal update on a recent third-party cyber attack, and discussed TPR’s approach to the resulting organisational and regulatory risks.
Progress with the pensions dashboard programme was noted and discussed.
Determinations Panel annual report
The Chair of the Determinations Panel reported on the Panel’s activities over the year.
Public bodies review
The author, Mary Starks, gave Board an update on progress with the review, and gave them the opportunity to pose comments and questions. She noted that the review was part of a routine Cabinet office programme of review of arm’s-length bodies, with a strong current focus on value for money (VfM) and efficiency savings. She had spoken to many stakeholders and the general feedback was that TPR was a well-run, well regarded and well-functioning organisation.
Liability-driven investment (LDI) update
The Board received an update on the various streams of work in train within the business in this area and outlined the programme of work going forward.
Joint response from DWP, FCA and TPR to industry response to our consultation on the VfM framework
Regulators and government had consulted on plans to bring in a new framework for the holistic assessment of VfM in DC schemes across both trust and contract-based pensions. The Board received and discussed a paper outlining the response to that consultation and TPR’s refined approach going forward. It was asked to note the emerging policy direction for TPR’s work to drive value for money and to consider its potential impacts for how we may regulate in future.
People and Culture strategy/plan update, and people risks update
The Board received and discussed updates on the above.
Key project updates
The Board received and discussed an update on TPR’s major portfolio projects over the previous year (2022 to 2023) with a look forward to the portfolio for 2023 to 2024.
Draft annual report and accounts (ARA) 2022 to 2023
The Board’s comments were sought on the first draft of the ARA for 2022 to 2023, together with feedback on the content of the report.
Any other business
None.