The entry process for the UK Pensions Awards 2026 – which celebrate excellence within the pensions industry – has opened today (23 October).
This year's event will mark the 29th anniversary of the UK Pensions Awards and will take place at a ceremony on 11 June 2026 at The Brewery in London.
To enter the awards, click here.
We have a range of resources available to help you to complete your entries. Once you log into our awards platform, you will receive an email with our entry guidance pack along with a link to the recording of our judges Q&A to help you with your submission. Should you have any further queries, contact Sophia De Palma.
Entries must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 23 January 2026. Finalists will be announced in March 2026.
Entering on behalf of a pension scheme for the Pension Scheme of the Year accolades. For the three Pension Scheme of the Year entries, we welcome employer or scheme entries that are supported or put forward by commercial providers such as consultants, insurers or master trust providers but these must be entered in the name of the client scheme or employer not in the name of the provider themselves.
Categories
We have made a number of changes to the category list for the 2026 awards in response to feedback we have received.
We are bringing back our Pension Personality of the Year accolade due to popular demand. Names for this accolade will be put forward by the Professional Pensions audience, with the final winner being decided by the UK Pensions Awards judges. Nominations for this category will open early next year.
We have merged the Pension Lawyers of the Year category with the Pensions Litigation Firm of the Year accolade. This category will be called Pension Lawyers of the Year
We have renamed the DC Investment Manager of the Year category as DC Investment Strategy of the Year – aiming to reflect the excellence not just among asset management firms when it comes to DC investment, but also among DC pension providers and master trusts too.
Entry criteria for this year's awards can be found here. The full list of categories for the 2026 awards is:
Advisory Categories:
- Actuarial/Pensions Consultancy of the Year
- DC Consultancy of the Year
- Investment Consultancy of the Year
- Pensions Lawyers of the Year
- Risk Reduction Adviser of the Year
- Fiduciary Evaluator of the Year
- Sponsor Covenant / IRM Adviser of the Year
DC Categories:
- DC Pension Provider of the Year
- DC Investment Strategy of the Year
- DC Master Trust of the Year
- DC Innovation of the Year
Investment Categories:
- Investment Manager of the Year
- Fiduciary Manager of the Year
- Institutional Investment Platform Provider of the Year
- Equity Manager of the Year
- Fixed Income Manager of the Year
- Factor Investing Manager of the Year
- DB Multi-Asset Manager of the Year
- Emerging Markets Manager of the Year
- Real Estate Manager of the Year
- Alternative and Private Markets Investment Manager of the Year
- ESG Manager of the Year
- Impact Manager of the Year
- Liability-Driven Investment (LDI) Manager of the Year
- Cashflow-Driven Investment (CDI) Manager of the Year
- Risk Transfer Provider of the Year
- Alternative Endgame Solution Provider of the Year
- Run-on Provider of the Year
Other Categories:
- Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award
- Independent Trustee of the Year
- Third-Party Administrator of the Year
- Technology Innovation of the Year
- Pensions Communication Initiative of the Year
- Educational and Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year
- Retirement Innovation of the Year
Pension Scheme of the Year Award Categories:
The following three categories are only open to non-commercial pension schemes. Commercial providers such as insurers offering GPPs, master trusts and consolidators should enter the provider awards above. We do, however, welcome employer entries that are supported or put forward by commercial providers, but they must be in the name of the client scheme or employer not in the name of the provider themselves.
