The Pensions Regulator introduces its initial trustee diversity and inclusion survey

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 5 July, 2023

THE PENSIONS Regulator (TPR) has established a trustee diversity and inclusion survey to better understand the present state of trustees’ diversity and track progress in promoting high standards of diversity and inclusion.

The anonymous online survey will be open to all trustees of defined contribution* (DC) and defined benefit* (DB) plans, and invitations will be sent to about 97,000 trustees and board members of public sector pension plans “later this month.”

The survey will:

• explore the proportion of trustees with protected characteristics, their academic and socioeconomic backgrounds and work experience.
• discover trustees’ views on diversity and inclusion, in a measurable way allowing for TPR to detect changes in sentiment over time.
• understand what diversity and inclusion data about trustees is being recorded by schemes and its intended use.
• record actions being taken to ensure diversity and inclusion among trustees in their work and whether information on benefits for savers is being captured.
• measure awareness of TPR’s equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) action plan.

Louise Davey, TPR’s director of Regulatory Policy, Analysis, and Advice, said: “Diversity and inclusion are important to good governance and decision-making, and therefore in achieving good saver outcomes.

“This online survey will help us build a picture of trustees’ diversity so we can effectively measure our progress in promoting high standards of diversity and inclusion.”

TPR stated that it anticipates sharing the survey’s findings by the end of 2023.

Less than one-fifth (17 per cent) of plans formally obtained and recorded any diversity data on their trustees, according to research by the regulator, which indicated that most DC pension schemes did not formally collect diversity data with respect to their trustees.

The regulator discovered that relatively few schemes included data on religion or belief, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Instead, it found that sex and age were the two categories most likely to be recorded, followed by ethnicity, disability, and education.

 

 

*A defined-benefit plan—also commonly known as a traditional pension plan—provides a specified payment amount in retirement.

*A defined-contribution plan allows employees to contribute and invest in funds and other securities overtime to save for retirement.