The Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) has published proposed amendments to the statement of recommended practice (SORP) on the financial reports of pension schemes.
I was approached yesterday by Con Keating demanding that I give this prominence on this blog and I have. He was instrumental in much of what went into the 2018 SORP and he is showing no signs of letting up in ensuring that pension schemes report accurately and relevantly. The work of PRAG and those who depend on it is not properly respected – and that includes by this blog and by Pension PlayPen and AgeWage. Here are the details of what is going on taken from Jonathan Stapleton’s article in Professional Pensions.
PRAG – the body recognised by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as the appropriate organisation to issue SORPs for pension schemes – said that, since the SORP was last reviewed and updated in 2018, the FRC had made a number of amendments to FRS 102, the principal accounting standard applicable to pension schemes in the UK.
It said there have also been a number of industry developments which impact on pension scheme financial reporting, for example in pension scheme investment strategies, and added there had also been changes to pensions legislation and regulations.
The accounting body added it had reflected these changes in its draft SORP and was now consulting on the amendments.
PRAG SORP working party chair Andy Lowe said: “We have reflected the changes to FRS 102 in the revised SORP, and have also consulted extensively across stakeholder groups as to any proposed changes to the SORP, and received a number of suggestions for amendments, additional clarifications and illustrative examples.”
“We thank all parties, including the FRC, for their engagement in the process of updating the SORP. We are committed to developing the SORP based on evidence from consultation with all stakeholders, including users, preparers and others; and very much welcome comments on the draft SORP.”
All documents can be found at: https://www.prag.org.uk/prag-sorp-consultation-2025
The deadline for submission of comments is Wednesday 17 September 2025.