Survey shows many schemes still falling short
This report details the key findings of the fourth record keeping survey, conducted in January to February 2013 among a sample of trust and contract (WPP) based pension schemes with twelve or more members.
Maintaining accurate records is crucial to the effective administration of pension schemes.
We previously set targets for schemes to meet certain 'common' data standards by the end of 2012. 'Common' data includes name, date of birth, National Insurance number and other basic member information.
Schemes also need to ensure that their "conditional data" is correct and complete. This is additional information required to accurately calculate benefits.
Our recent survey has revealed that many schemes are still falling short of achieving the standards we have set, despite steady improvements in some areas.
It shows that the majority of large and medium trust-based schemes measure common data, and over half meet the overall target. But measuring conditional data is less prevalent, with 29% of large schemes saying that it was not a priority and half of trust-based schemes unaware of the requirement to do so.
We are currently undertaking a detailed review of some schemes to establish whether they have met the targets for the accuracy of records. If we find breaches of pensions legislation we will consider actions such as improvement notices or financial penalties. We will also publish the results of the review later this year and update our guidance to reflect the key findings.