You can read the plan here.
Key priorities for the regulator include:
Ensuring employers meet their duties under automatic enrolment
A renewed focus on defined benefit schemes in the wake of various company failures
Continuing efforts to combat pension fraudsters with new anti-scams campaign
Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, comments:
“The Pensions Regulator has come out fighting after something of an annus horribilis which has seen it face stinging criticism for its role in the BHS scandal and the recent failure of building firm Carillion.
“While some of this may have been justified, TPR’s budget remains tiny when you consider the vast landscape it is required to monitor. This undoubtedly limits its ability to ensure all savers in the schemes it regulates are protected all of the time.
“With the UK’s smallest employers now part of the auto-enrolment landscape and further company failures inevitable as the UK high street continues to suffer, TPR’s job isn’t likely to get any easier.
“In this context, chairman Mark Boyle’s pledge to be ‘more vocal’ in communicating its expectations of those it regulates makes sense. The regulator has to compensate for its lack of resources somehow and by roaring like a lion it will hope to convince those it polices it is more than just a kitten.
“Confirmation TPR will launch a new anti-scams campaign is another positive step in the fight against fraudsters. We must use all the tools at our disposal to warn consumers of this threat and public awareness campaigns have the potential to be hugely effective in protecting savers.”