7 days


7 Days is a weekly round up of developments in pensions, normally published on Monday afternoons. We collate this information from key industry sources, such as the DWP, HMRC and TPR.

In this 7 Days

Liz Kendall appointed as new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Following the General Election on 4 July 2024 and change of Government, Liz Kendall has been appointed as the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. A new Pensions Minister has not yet been announced.

The new Parliament begins on 9 July 2024, with the State Opening and King’s Speech following on 17 July 2024.

TPR announces evolving supervision of master trusts

On 8 July 2024, TPR announced it is “evolving” its supervision of master trusts to focus on investments, data quality and standards, and innovation at retirement. As part of the new approach, TPR expects to:

  • probe and challenge more on how a master trust’s approach to investments delivers for savers
  • investigate how a master trust is seeking the best possible long-term risk-adjusted returns
  • look more broadly at master trust investment governance practice and investment decision making, and
  • request “deep dives” into the systems and processes of master trusts.

First-tier Tribunal considers TPR discretion in issuing penalties for failure to prepare chair’s statement

The First-tier Tribunal (“FTT”) has considered an appeal against a penalty notice issued by TPR for failure to prepare a chair’s statement. TPR’s lack of discretion in this area has long been questioned.

The FTT found that a penalty may not always be required in all circumstances. TPR might be precluded from issuing a penalty to trustees where “wholly exceptional circumstances fully explained and excused their non-compliance and imposition of a penalty would be manifestly unjust”. However, in this case, the circumstances did not fall into that category and the appeal was dismissed.

See our case summary for more details.