Pensions Bulletin 2026/03

Audit Reform Bill scrapped

The Government has now made clear that it will not be consulting on the proposed Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill and that it is instead to be scrapped. The Government had announced, on coming into office, that the Bill would be issued in draft form for pre-legislative scrutiny during the current Parliamentary session (see Pensions Bulletin 2024/27).

Initially, a letter dated 19 January 2026 from Blair McDougall MP, Minister for Small Businesses and Economic Transformation at the Department for Business and Trade, to Business and Trade Committee Chair Liam Byrne MP, made clear that the Government would no longer be consulting on the Bill. This was followed by a press release dated 20 January 2026 (on a separate matter) making it clear that the Bill has been scrapped “to avoid significant new costs for large firms”.

As to putting the Financial Reporting Council onto a statutory footing, which was one of the Bill’s objectives, this remains on the Government’s agenda, but the stock phrase “as soon as parliamentary time allows” in Mr McDougall’s letter suggests that any Bill to achieve this will not be brought forward any time soon.

SPP looks at CDC schemes

The Society of Pension Professionals has published a paper, available from its Guides and Reports page, which seeks to address the practicalities of administration, cost management, and governance in a way that makes CDC schemes accessible, resilient, and trustworthy for both employers and pension savers. Entitled “From Concept to Practice: A practical guide to CDC pension schemes”, the paper arranges most of its thoughts under the headings of practical issues, actuarial, investment, administration, costs, communications (including a detailed appendix) and regulatory risk. It also contains a short description of the three types of CDC schemes.

Amongst the topics discussed is the possibility for CDC to provide more stable and potentially higher retirement incomes than DC given CDC’s ability to pool investment and longevity risk, the significantly different role the actuarial valuation plays compared to that in DB schemes, with CDC potentially leading to benefit adjustments (which could be a reduction), and why the unconnected multi-employer CDC variant may prove attractive to employers and providers. For those who have seen regulatory requirements grow and grow, first for DB and now for DC, the risk of future changes in the regulation of CDC making it more onerous or costly, and hence less attractive, is mentioned, albeit in passing.

PASA issues guidance on planning digital transformation

The Pensions Administration Standards Association has announced the publication of the second digital administration guidance document in its three-part series, following on from its first guidance document published in November 2025 (see Pensions Bulletin 2025/47).

This latest guidance focuses on planning the digital transformation journey and is intended to assist pension schemes of all sizes and levels of digital maturity. It also introduces a transformation planning model designed to help schemes move from vision to implementation in a structured and user-centric way.

PASA says that the third document will be published in February.

Pensions Regulator appointments

Emma Douglas, the Government’s preferred candidate for the role of Chair of the Pensions Regulator, has been endorsed by the Work and Pensions Committee in a pre-appointment hearing which took place on 14 January 2026. Ms Douglas should now succeed interim Chair, Kirstin Baker, who was appointed with effect from 1 August 2025, following the resignation of Sarah Smart.

Richard Knox has been appointed as Executive Director, Strategy, Policy and Analysis at the Pensions Regulator from February 2026.