About us
What we do and who we are
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is the public body that protects workplace pensions in the UK.
Millions of people rely on workplace pensions for their future income. Our mission is to make sure their money is protected, that we enhance the system, and support innovation in savers’ interests working with millions of employers and thousands of pension schemes.
This is an exciting time for TPR. The pensions sector is at a pivotal point, prompting a major shift in our focus. The market we regulate is radically changing, moving towards a system of fewer, larger schemes – schemes that could not just impact the retirement outcomes of millions of savers, but could also move markets.
That’s why we’re shifting from a compliance-focused approach to a risk-based, high-performance culture, requiring new capabilities, training, and behaviours. Our goal through transformation is to foster a high-performance organisation through greater alignment, accountability, collaboration, and a performance mindset.
We are sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and are based in Brighton, with a team of around 1,000 dedicated people. We are largely single site with a hybrid working policy that means senior leaders are required to spend 8 days a month at the office.
We work very closely with our sponsoring department and while we are not civil servants, we are subject to the annual pay remit for civil servants issued by HM Government.
We also work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates personal pension schemes, and other public bodies including:
- HM Treasury
- Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
- Money and Pensions Service
- Financial Ombudsman Service
- Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Our executive committee works with our board members, who oversee what we do and help ensure that TPR is well run.
What we do
We are responsible for:
- making sure employers put their staff into a pension scheme and pay money into it (known as ‘automatic enrolment’)
- protecting people’s savings in workplace pensions
- improving the way that workplace pension schemes are run
- reducing the risk of pension schemes ending up in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
- making sure employers balance the needs of their defined benefit pension scheme with growing their business
Our priorities
In our Corporate Strategy we have set five high-level priorities, each with a strategic goal, which indicate our core areas of focus:
- Security: Savers’ money is secure.
- Value for money: Savers get good value for their money.
- Scrutiny of decision-making: Decisions made on behalf of savers are in their best interests.
- Embracing innovation: The market innovates to meet savers’ needs.
- Bold and effective regulation: TPR is a bold and effective regulator.
The detail behind our day-to-day work is set out in our Corporate Plan.
To deliver our priorities we will set clear expectations, identify risk early, drive compliance through supervision and enforcement, and work with others. Read more about our approach to regulating.
Vision and values
Our vision is to be a strong, agile, fair, and efficient regulator. Through this we seek to gain the respect of employers, trustees, and other stakeholders.
We are committed to making TPR a great place to work and doing all we can to support our people to reach their full potential.
We hold fast to our values, which are central to delivering this vision. These include being:
- Committed to the pursuit of good outcomes for workplace savers
- Bold and impartial in our decision-making
- Alert and responsive to emerging risks and opportunities
- Supportive of our people
- United as one team
For more information about The Pensions Regulator please visit thepensionsregulator.gov.uk
Equality, diversity and inclusion
The Pensions Regulator is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in its role as an employer, its approach to regulation and in ensuring quality outcomes for the saver. EDI is integral to our organisation, and we believe it supports innovation and creativity through the representation of a range of perspectives and challenging groupthink. TPR also recognises the importance of an inclusive culture where people feel safe, supported and have a sense of belonging in order to actively contribute and thrive. Our approach to EDI leads to better decision making and policy outcomes, helping us to achieve our objectives.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has signalled how it plans to lead by example to create a fairer and more inclusive culture across the pensions industry and work with others to address inequality among savers.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which has been developed in discussion with organisations across the pensions industry, sets out how TPR will embed diversity and inclusion throughout its organisation and how it will support its regulated community to do the same.
The strategy sets out a roadmap to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of TPR’s work as a regulatory body. It sets targets which will ensure TPR meets the aims of the strategy which are:
- to be a fair, diverse and inclusive employer
- to build a collective understanding of why pensions inequalities occur and work in partnership with others seeking to reduce them.
- to promote higher standards of equality, diversity and inclusion among TPR’s regulated community.
Testimonials
“Now more than ever, organisations and employers are being called on to take the lead in bringing about a fairer and more inclusive society.
Through our strategy, we are clear on our ambition for positive and lasting change across our own organisation, and the industry we regulate, to drive down inequality among savers.
The status quo is not acceptable, and it is crucial we continue to challenge ourselves so that diversity and inclusion are not simply seen as desirable but that they are embedded across everything we do.
We also look to the pensions industry to work with us and work together to bring real improvements in diversity in relation to decision making across the sector. We know that this will improve the quality of decisions and it will mean that Trustee Boards better reflect the diversity among savers.”
TPR’s Chair | Sarah Smart
“We want to make workplace pensions work for all savers. As a regulator, this means making sure diverse thinking and constructive challenge runs through the industry and a commitment to work in partnership with others to mitigate inequality in the pensions system.
As an employer, it means giving everyone a fair shot, valuing and supporting colleagues for what they bring to the table, and using our collective talents in the best way possible so that we can all truly deliver for pension savers.”
Chief Executive Officer | Nausicaa Delfas
Equality, diversity and inclusion strategy
Our corporate strategy sets out that we will put the saver at the heart of all that we do and enhance and protect all savers’ pensions. To do that effectively, we need to build a collective understanding of why inequalities occur, influence our regulated community to ensure diversity in decision-making, and lead from the front to become a truly a diverse and inclusive employer.
Our vision is to build a workplace pensions system that works for everyone.