Pensions should be overseen by one regulatory body rather than the “seriously flawed” current system, outgoing National Association of Pension Funds chairman Mark Hyde Harrison told delegates.
Speaking at the NAPF Annual Conference in Manchester, Hyde Harrison (pictured) called for a single regulator for UK occupational pensions rather than the two existing bodies – The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – who are separately responsible for defined benefit and defined contribution provision respectively.
“The mass DC market brought about by auto-enrolment will mean that the current regulatory split of the market between The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority will become increasingly apparent – and increasingly unstable,” said Hyde Harrison.
“With pensions becoming an employer duty and with the growth in numbers in pensions, it can only be a matter of time before we move to a single regulator for pensions. We’ve been saying this for some time – and we’re not alone – but we do need to have this debate quite openly now.”
He said any shift to a single body would “not be easy” but that did not mean the issue should be dodged adding the priority should be ensuing better and fairer pensions for people. “We need the right regulatory environment to do that,” he added.
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