Use this A to Z section to:
- look for common style points, such as how we write abbreviations
- find out how we write specific words and phrases
- find links to further information within our style guide and other useful resources
Check the GOV.UK style guide for any points of style not covered here.
abbreviations and acronyms
see abbreviations and acronyms
accessibility
what you need to know to make sure that you comply with the law and standards so everyone can access our information and services - see accessibility
acknowledgement
not ‘acknowledgment’
ACT
advanced corporation tax
address the reader
for guidance on which pronoun we use when writing for our audiences - see address the reader
advise/advice
‘let me advise you’ (verb), ‘let me give you some advice’ (noun)
ageing, ageism
not ‘aging’, age-related illness but the illness was age related
ahead of
avoid - use ‘in advance of’ or simply ‘before’
ALB
arms-length body
alt text
among
not ‘amongst’
ampersand
Use and rather than an ampersand (&), unless it’s a department’s logo image or a company’s name.
anticipate
is to foresee its occurrence and act accordingly, we expect when we think something will happen, but cannot be certain
asterisk
Asterix is a cartoon character
automatic enrolment
or auto enrolment (we no longer use pension reform or employer compliance regime)
AVC
additional voluntary contribution
the Board
capital B when talking about ‘the Board’ but note lower case for ‘board papers’ and remember ‘the Board’ is singular: ‘the Board has decided’, not ‘the Board have decided’
biannual
twice a year, no hyphen
biennial
every two years, no hyphen
bureaucracy
bureaucrat
bullet points
for guidance on our house style on using bulleted lists - see bullet points
businessmen
use ‘business people’ or ‘the business community’ if this is what you mean
buy-in/buy-out
hyphenate when using as a verb but do not hyphenate when writing as a noun
capitalisation
see capitalisation
casework
one word
CEDR
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
CETV
cash equivalent transfer value
Chairman
Chief Executive and all other job titles, upper case
Charts and diagrams
for guidance on how to create figures, charts and diagrams - see figures, charts and diagrams
for advice on using colours in your charts/graphs - see using colours on graphs
colours
for advice on using colours in your communications - see colours
commas
See The Guardian's style guide for use of commas
communication channels
we have a number of communication channels including: website, social media and elearning
compensation levy
lower case
comprise
means ‘to consist of’; ‘comprise of’ is wrong
content design: creating good content
guidance for content owners/managers on using data and evidence, to deliver communications to audiences when they need it and which can be easily understood - see content design: creating good content
content types
for a list and examples of the different types content we have - see content types
continual
refers to something that happens repeatedly but not constantly
continuous
indicates an unbroken sequence
contracted out
contract-based scheme
but the scheme was contract based (no hyphen)
Contribution Notice
initial capitals
co-operate
hyphenate
co-operation
hyphenate
co-operative
hyphenate
co-ordinate
hyphenate
covenant leakage
(value leaving the employer)
examples of this include dividends, share buy backs, settling competing creditors ahead of the scheme, intra-group trading, non-commercial lending, and disproportionate operating expenses (including management charges and senior executive remuneration)
cross-border
hyphenate
dates
for guidance on how to show dates - see GOV.UK A to Z style guide
day-to-day basis
hyphenated
defined benefit (DB) scheme
(also known as final salary or salary related) the benefit that members receive on retirement is fixed in advance as a percentage of their final salary (the benefit depends on the pension fund being fully funded and having sufficient reserves to meet its obligations in full) (adjective) contingent on, or determined by
dependant
(noun) a person who relies on another for financial support
dependent different from/to
‘different from’ is the usual form in most sentences, however, when ‘different’ introduces a second clause eg ‘how different things appear in Brighton to London’, you can use ‘to’ (or ‘than’)
design guidelines
guidance on how to use our design elements in your communications - see visual design
earmarked
no hyphen
effect/affect
‘the new legislation will have a significant effect’ (noun), ‘changes will be effected [made]’ (verb), ‘the new legislation will affect all employers’ (verb)
e-business
hyphenate
e-commerce
hyphenate
elearning
no hyphen
eligible jobholder
a worker aged between 22 and State Pension age, working or ordinarily working in the UK and earning above the earnings trigger for automatic enrolment
no hyphen
employer compliance regime
automatic enrolment or auto enrolment (we no longer use pension reform or employer compliance regime)
employer-related investment
hyphenated
enquiry
interchangeable with inquiry, although it’s generally preferable to use inquiry to denote an investigation, and enquiry to denote a question
EPB
equivalent pension benefit
e-reporting
electronic reporting, hyphenated
ERI
employer-related investment
enrol
enrolling, enrolment
entitled worker
a worker aged between 16 and State Pension age, working or ordinarily working in the UK and earning below the lower level of qualifying earnings
expect
when we think something will happen, but cannot be certain, to anticipate something is to foresee its occurrence and act accordingly
fewer
use fewer when you are referring to people or things in the plural (eg houses, newspapers, children), use less when referring to something that cannot be counted or does not have a plural (eg money, air, time)
final salary scheme
use defined benefit
flexitime
one word
focused
not focussed
fonts
for advice on the primary font of TPR - see fonts
forego
go before
forgo
go without
formatting and punctuation
for guidance on using our house style when creating your communications - see formatting and punctuation
forms
for guidance on how to write good questions for forms - see how to write good questions for forms
fractions
two-thirds, three-quarters etc but note one and a half
FSAVC
free-standing additional voluntary contributions
FSD
financial support direction
fulfil
fulfilled, fulfilling, fulfilment fundraiser, fundraising
GAR
guaranteed annuity rate
Generation X, Y and Z
The broad definitions of different generations. There is no consensus on the exact dates that they begin and end. Broadly:
- generation x applies to people born between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s
- generation y, also known as millennials, applies to people born between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s
- generation Z to those born between the mid-1990s and early-2010s
going concern
but going-concern basis
government
not Government, even when referring to an elected administration, unless part of a specific name, eg Local Government Association
GMP
guaranteed minimum pension
GPP
group personal pension
green paper
a preliminary report of government proposals published to encourage discussion
headings
for guidance on how to structure your content - see headings
health care
two words
HRA
Human Rights Act
house style
two words
hybrid scheme
use mixed benefits scheme
hyphens
IDR
internal dispute resolution
IFA
independent financial adviser. No apostrophe in plural (IFAs)
illustrations
for guidance on using illustrations to deliver an idea or message - see illustrations
inclusive communication at TPR
for guidance on using appropriate or inclusive language - see inclusive language
for words to use and avoid when writing about a disability - see inclusive language on GOV.UK
index
plural indexes; but in scientific or economic use indices
in-house
hyphenate
inquiry
interchangeable with enquiry, although it’s generally preferable to use inquiry to denote an investigation, and enquiry to denote a question
into
not ‘in to’; ‘into’ is one word – ‘on to’ is not
IPA
individual pension account
-ise
endings, not -ize, eg maximise, organise
italics
for guidance on using italics - see italics
it’s
contracted form of ‘it is’ or ‘it has’
its
possessive form of ‘it’ (no apostrophe), eg ‘turned on its side’
judgement
not judgment, unless referring to that made by a court
jobholder
a worker aged between 16 and 74, working or ordinarily working in the UK and earning above the lower level of qualifying earnings
know-how
hyphenate
knowledgeable
not knowledgable
legal and technical content
guidance on writing your legal and technical content for your audience - see legal and technical content
less
not as much, smaller in quantity (less money, less pension); use ‘fewer’ to mean not as many, smaller in number (fewer schemes, fewer members)
licence
(noun) ‘she has a driving licence’
license
(verb) ‘he is licensed to sell alcohol’
logos
guidance on how to use our logos - see logos
long term
it will be of long-term benefit, but it will be of benefit in the long term (no hyphen)
LPI
limited price indexation
MAC
maximum administration charge
magistrates’ court
lower case with apostrophe after magistrates'
manoeuvre
manoeuvring
member
use member when talking about a member of a specific scheme and saver in consumer-facing content
MFR
minimum funding requirement
mid
mid-90s, mid-year, but midterm, midweek
MIG
minimum income guarantee
Millennials
Also known as generation Y, this is a term for people born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s.
minister
lower case
misuse/misused
no hyphen
mixed benefits scheme
a scheme that provides DB and DC benefits, don’t use hybrid
MND
member-nominated director
MNT
member-nominated trustee
money-purchase scheme
use defined contribution
moral hazard
always singular
MOU
memorandum of understanding
MP
(member of Parliament) if you are unsure how to address someone, check in Debrett’s correct form in the library
multicultural
no hyphen
multi-employer
hyphenate
multilateral
no hyphen
multimedia
no hyphen
multinational
no hyphen
multi-user
hyphenate
NDPB
non-departmental public body
nevertheless
one word
nonetheless
one word
no one
no hyphen
numbers
for guidance on how to display numbers - see numbers
OEIC
open-ended investment company
one-off payment
hyphenate one-off
on to
two words, but ‘into’ is one word
onsite
one word
opt in
opting in
opt out
(verb) opting out
opt-out
(noun) opt-out period, opt-out notice hyphenated
outside
not ‘outside of’
part-time
hyphenate
payback, payday, payout, payroll
one word
pay band
two words
pensioner
lower case
Pensions Act 2008
initial capitals, write in full for first mention, then ‘Pensions Act’, and if mentioned a second time in a sentence, then ‘the Act’
Pensions Dashboards Programme
initial capitals, pensions and dashboards both plural
The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
use a capital T for The and write out our name in full the first time you use it followed by the abbreviation in brackets
then use TPR thereafter
avoid using ‘the regulator’
Pensions reform
automatic enrolment or auto enrolment (we no longer use pension reform or employer compliance regime)
people
not ‘persons’
pipeline
one word
plc
public limited company, lower case
portable document format (PDF)
for advice on when to use PDFs - see HTML or PDF
post-war
hyphenate
practice
(noun) ‘it has become common practice’
practise
(verb) ‘trustees need to practise their skills’
pre-eminent
Hyphenate
preventive
not preventative
principal
the first order of importance, eg the principal learning outcome, school principal
principle
a belief or value, eg the principles of government, moral principles
print-out
Hyphenate
program
computer program
qualifying scheme
a scheme that qualifies as a suitable pension scheme and meets several criteria based on the level of contributions paid or the benefits received
quango
a semi-public government-financed administrative body whose members are appointed by the government, also NDPB
quotes and speech marks
read the GOV.UK style guide
re/re
use re- (with hyphen) when followed by the vowels ‘e’ or ‘u’ (when not pronounced ‘yu’) eg re-examine, re-urge. Use re (no hyphen) when followed by the vowels ‘a’, ‘i’, ‘o’ or ‘u’ (when pronounced ‘yu’) or any consonant eg rearrange, reuse, reconsider. Exceptions: where there maybe confusion with another word: re-cover/recover
readability
guidance on the reading age of your audience and how to test your communications - see readability
record-keeping
hyphenated
the regulator
we no longer use this, instead use The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and TPR thereafter or we/our
risk-based
hyphenate
RPI
retail price index
salary-related scheme
use defined benefit
saver
use saver in consumer-facing content and member when talking about a member of a specific scheme
scheme-based levy
hyphenate scheme-based
scheme year-end
hyphenate year-end
SDRT
stamp duty reserve tax
section 103
lower case s or s103, no full stop
self-administered scheme
hyphenate self-administered
self-invested scheme
hyphenate self-invested
SERPS
State Earnings Related Pension Scheme
shareholder
one word
SI
statutory instrument
SIP
statement of investment principles
SRI
socially responsible investment
SSAS
small self-administered scheme
stakeholder pension
lower case
start up
(verb)
start-up
(noun) hyphenated
stationary
not moving
stationery
pens, envelopes, paper etc
stock market
stock exchange
subhead
subheading no hyphen
supersede
not supercede
tables
for guidance on using tables - see tables
for advice on colours for your tables - see using colours on tables
targeting
targeted not targetting, targetted
takeover
one word
tax-approved scheme
hyphenate tax-approved
team-mate
hyphenate
team meeting
no hyphen
team spirit
no hyphen
teamwork
one word
technical and legal content
for guidance on writing your technical and legal content for your audience - see legal and technical content
that/which
that defines, which informs: this is the house that Jack built, but this house, which Jack built, is now falling down
the Act
only use if ‘the Pensions Act’ has already been mentioned in the same sentence
The Takeover Panel
initial capitals
think tank
no hyphen
this/that
this looks forward, that looks back
time
for guidance on how to show times - see GOV.UK A to Z style guide
TKU
trustee knowledge and understanding
tone of voice
guidance on what tone of voice your communication should have - see tone of voice
trade names
no hyphen
trust deed and rules
lower case
trust-based scheme
hyphenated because it describes the scheme
trustee
lower case
Trustee toolkit
capital T for trustee and lower-case t for toolkit
try to
not ‘try and’
TUPE
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
turn over
(verb) ‘let the engine turn over for a few minutes’
turnover
(noun) ‘the business had a turnover of...’
unco-operative
hyphenate
underfunding
one word
under way
two words
underperformance
one word
up-to-date records
hyphenated, but ‘keep the records up to date’ not hyphenated
very
usually redundant
website
one word
well-run
scheme but ‘the scheme was well run’
which/that
that defines, which informs: this is the house that Jack built, but this house, which Jack built, is now falling down
while
not whilst
whistleblowing
one word
whistleblower
one word
whose
the possessive form of who, eg whose hat is this?
who’s
a contraction and means ‘who is’ or ‘who has’, eg who’s just bought this hat?
wind-up
(noun) ‘the scheme was in wind-up’
wind up
(verb) winding up ‘they decided to wind up the scheme’
white paper
a report setting out government proposals
work-based pension
use workplace pension
workplace pensions reform
we no longer use this term, see automatic enrolment
year-end
hyphenate
the year ended
refers to past years
the year ending
refers to future year
-ize
use -ise endings: minimise, recognise