TPR: DB funds 'were not and are not' at risk of collapse

Speaking at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association's annual conference, TPR chief executive Charles Counsell said newspaper headlines such as those suggesting pension funds "almost collapsed amid market meltdown" or were "hours from disaster" were simply not true.

He said: "Following recent media coverage, I think it is really important to reassure savers that DB pension schemes were not and are not at risk of collapse - it is absolutely clear there have been liquidity issues in some of the funds, but that does not mean the schemes themselves are at risk of collapse."

Counsell said some elements of the media jumped to the conclusion that pension schemes themselves were in trouble when they heard that some liability-driven investment funds were making emergency arrangements - and said that both the regulator and the trustees themselves had a "duty" to ensure members of DB or defined contribution (DC) schemes were not scared into making decisions they might later regret.

He said: "We've been doing a lot to try and make the facts really clear and will continue to do so but I think we all have a duty to do that as well and I would encourage you as trustees to get the message out to your members about what the position is - I think we can all be really crystal clear that this is not about the whole pensions industry collapsing or individual DB schemes collapsing."

The regulator noted it "remained vigilant to the risks" and expected trustees to do the same and plan accordingly - urging schemes to read the guidance it published on its website yesterday for the trustees of both DB and DC schemes and their advisers.

He said: "As with the Covid crisis, we call on trustees of DB schemes and their advisers to continue to view the resilience and liquidity of their investments, risk management and funding arrangements - planning accordingly to protect the interests of scheme members."