The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its annual defined contribution (DC) trust report - revealing a 7.8% drop in the number of occupational schemes with 12 or more DC members but a 32% rise in the membership of the very biggest plans.
The ninth edition of the regulator's annual statistics publication provides a high-level snapshot of the current landscape of occupational DC trust-based pension provision in the UK, including information on the number and membership of schemes.
This year's edition covers around 31,910 current schemes from the regulator's pension schemes register, of which 2,010 have 12 or more members.
The data revealed there has been a 7.8% fall in the number of occupational schemes with 12 or more DC members over the past year and a decline of 56% since the beginning of 2010.
But the data also showed that membership in schemes with 12 or more members increased by 33% over the past year and has increased by over 640% since the beginning of 2010.
In particular, it found the growth in membership of the very biggest schemes - those with 5,000 or more members - has grown significantly, posting membership growth of 32% in the last year alone.
The regulator also revealed there are currently 74 master trusts registered with TPR. It noted that while its monthly figures on the number of master trusts have reported a higher number (84), the number shown here reflects what it has been told through the scheme return, while the monthly figures reflect more recent market intelligence.
It said membership of master trusts has increased from 270,000 at the beginning of 2012 to just over 13.4 million this year.
The regulator's data also showed there had been significant growth of assets in schemes with 12 or more members - with growth of 25% this year, compared to 22% last year.
Total assets in occupational schemes with 12 or more DC members are now £60bn - an increase of 172% since the beginning of 2011.
It said average assets per membership at retirement increased last year, from £9,000 to £9,800 and noted the total amount transferred in to DC schemes has increased by almost 150%, from £2bn to almost £5bn over the same period.
Contributions increased by 22% last year, compared to 21% the year before.
To read the regulator's DC trust data in full, click here.
