Costs and charges

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT 1: On 16 September 2021 the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a joint discussion paper DP21/3 ‘Driving Value for Money in defined contribution pensions’ on developing a common framework and related metrics for measuring value for money (VfM) in defined contribution (DC) pension schemes (workplace and non-workplace). The focus of the joint discussion paper was on VfM in accumulation.

The aim of the two regulators is to drive a long-term focus on VfM across the pensions sector. To allow good value schemes to compete, the FCA and TPR are proposing a common holistic framework for disclosing information on the key elements which make up VfM: investment performance, scheme oversight—including data quality and communications, and costs and charges. TPR and the FCA believe that the common framework will also allow trustees and independent governance committees to compare their scheme’s costs and charges, investment performance and service standards with similar offerings from other providers. The aim is to promote consistent assessments on VFM, focusing on metrics for the key drivers of VFM to enable meaningful comparisons between schemes. They believe