The Pensions Regulator lays out what we have left of DC Occupational Pension Schemes
The TPR’s take on its work
Brighton seems pretty content with the state of our workplace pension market , for private DC schemes it looks like the end of the road unless you’re a commercial master trust. Recently our largest DC schemes, Lloyds Banking Group’s “Your Tomorrow” DC scheme said it had no tomorrow and was to be consolidated by the Scottish Widows Master Trust. That is not yet in TPR’s numbers as it’s still in consultation but if it is too small , then how many single sponsored DC schemes will be left by the end of the decade.
Here are the numbers from the TPR
- DC scheme numbers fell by 15% to 790 in 2025.
- Assets increased by 22%, rising from £205 billion to £249 billion.
- Schemes that do not deliver value for savers should consolidate out the market, TPR urges.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is calling on DC trustees to review if their scheme presents value for savers, as the shift towards a market of fewer, larger schemes continues, driven by a decline in the number of smaller DC schemes.
TPR’s 2025 DC landscape report published today, shows the number of DC schemes has decreased by 15% to 790 in 2025 – consistent with 2024’s decline when the number of schemes fell below 1,000 for the first time. The decrease in the number of schemes is primarily driven by those with fewer than 5,000 memberships exiting the market.
At the same time, assets have continued to grow – from £205 billion in 2024 to £249 billion in 2025 – an increase of 22%, while memberships are up by 7% on last year.
Master trusts account for the majority of DC members, holding 30.1 million memberships (92%) and £208 billion in assets (83%).
Richard Knox, TPR’s Executive Director, Strategy, Policy and Analysis, said:
“People rightly expect to receive value from their hard-earned retirement savings. As we move towards a market of fewer larger schemes, master trusts now dominate. We believe that larger schemes are better placed to deliver value for money, including stronger investment returns and better service.
“The current Pension Schemes Bill will speed up market dynamics.
“In the new pensions world, we urge pension trustees of smaller schemes, in particular, to review their scheme today. Those that cannot match the stronger performers should consolidate out of the market and transfer savers to a better value scheme.”
My favorite Brighton actuary has this to say
The annual TPR DC scheme data publication is out. Nothing surprising. But does confirm the rapid consolidation (down by 15% as last year) and is now 730 if you exclude those winding up and micros.
And the data are in a sense out of date – up to date as far as the TPR database is concerned but this is as at the most recent scheme relevant date. So I expect the actual current number is closer to 600.
And it includes the Mastertrusts. (Very annoying they are shown separately everywhere). So we are well on the way to only have a few D.C. non MT non micro schemes.
What a palaver asking the Chairs to do so much. And the dashboard.
And VFM ha ha.
VFM- ha ha!
Assuming your view is that VFM is just performance tabling then Cap Data has some interesting things to say (though you have to pay to find out what happens for those close to retirement.
The closest we have to a VFM assessment of the DC market is Corporate Adviser’s “CapData”. It has recently been published and it tells us that there is very little correspondence between size and the amount of money you get from your DC workplace “pension” , oops “pot”.
SEI tops CAPAdata chart, highlighting gulf between top and bottom performers ahead of VFM metrics
The table ought to show the biggest at the top, as it happens WTW’s huge Lifesight is near the top but at the bottom are L&G and Nest (even huger)
You might say that consultants are winners on performance but Mercer’s performance stinks. Infact, it’s hard to tally anything with anything. Here’s the VFM performance table that people actually use (rather than TPR and FCA’s versions which are under consultation.
|
CAPA – Corporate Adviser Pensions Average |
56.3%
|
|
Aegon – Aegon MT – BlackRock Lifepath Flexi |
69.9% (+13.6%) |
|
Aegon – Aegon Workplace Default (ARC) – GPP |
43.8% (-12.5%) |
|
Aon – Managed Core Retirement Pathways |
76.1% (+19.8%) |
|
Aviva – My Future Focus Universal strategy |
48.3% (-8%) |
|
Fidelity – FutureWise |
69.3% (+13%) |
|
Hargreaves Lansdown – HL Growth Fund |
46.9% (-9.3%) |
|
Legal & General – Lifetime Advantage / Multi Asset Fund |
30.8% (-25.5%) |
|
Legal & General – Target Date Fund |
46.5% (-9.8%) |
|
LifeSight (WTW) – Medium Risk Drawdown |
87.6% (+31.3%) |
|
Mercer – SmartPath Targeting Drawdown |
37.5% (-18.8%) |
|
NatWest Cushon – Sustainable Investment Strategy |
54.1% (-2.2%) |
|
Nest – Retirement Date Fund |
48.9% (-7.4%) |
|
Now: Pensions – now: growth fund & now: retirement countdown fund |
40% (-16.2%) |
|
Penfold – Standard Lifetime plan |
Data not available |
|
Royal London – Balanced Lifestyle Strategy (Drawdown) (GPP) |
57.4% (+1.1%) |
|
Scottish Widows – PIA Balanced (Targeting Flexible Access) (MT&GPP) |
55.1% (-1.2%) |
|
SEI – Flexi default (drawdown) |
94.9% (+38.7%) |
|
Smart Pension – Smart Sustainable Growth Fund |
56.2% (-0%) |
|
Standard Life – Sustainable Multi Asset (AP) Universal SLP |
47.2% (-9%) |
|
The Lewis Workplace Pension Trust – TLWPT (The Lewis Workplace Pension Trust) |
65% (+8.7%) |
|
The People’s Pension – The People’s Pension Balanced Profile |
49.6% (-6.6%) |
|
TPT Retirement Solutions – TPT Target Date Fund |
68.8% (+12.6%) |
VFM performance tables are useful for employers in working out how big “pots” are but they don’t tell employers or regulators the value of consolidating into pensions.
