2026 pensions – what’s in store?
From the changing skills trustees of the future will need to managing transition and change, 2026 will be another big year for the pensions industry. But what should trustees, employers and pension scheme members be looking out for? We spoke to some of our experts to find out what’s big on their list for the year.
Efficient boards: strategic planning for DB scheme sustainability
As defined benefit (DB) schemes mature, there are multiple ‘endgame’ options for pension trustees to consider. Traditionally, with guidance from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) prioritising security, many pension schemes choose to transfer their risk to an insurer through buy-in and buy-out.
However, newer TPR guidance urges trustees to look at a wider range of options and consider which delivers the best possible outcome for members. This could still mean buy-in and buy-out – and successfully navigating these intensive projects requires a blend of the right expertise, strategic focus, effective programme management and really strong adviser and insurer relationships.
But other options are there! Some schemes will find transferring to a superfund (of which there will be at least one more entering the market in 2026) or using a DB consolidator suits their scheme best. Here it will be important for pension trustees to understand not only if members’ benefits will be more secure, but what kind of support and retirement experience they’ll receive from the new provider.
Others will choose to run-on, ensuring a focus on members and the outcomes they achieve while reflecting scheme sponsor objectives such as retaining discretions, managing funding and their approach to providing benefits for staff. If run on is your route, you need to think carefully about what skills, knowledge and experience you need from your trustee board and the governance team supporting them to navigate employer covenant, investment and long-term stewardship.
What’s important is that pension trustees (alongside their advisers) understand the options available to them, so they can effectively weigh up the pros and cons. Ultimately, it’s about understanding what members of your scheme value most, your sponsor’s strategic objectives and what TPR expects from you. Once you know this, pension trustees and scheme sponsors can align early with other stakeholders to set clear objectives and choose the best endgame path for their scheme.
Effective transition: small DC scheme consolidation
With the current regulatory pressure, employers and trustees of defined contribution (DC) schemes will increasingly look to move to a master trust or partner with one in 2026. But, choosing the best master trust for your members isn’t always that simple, even with a good adviser.
It’s easy to go with a big brand name and there can be merit in this, but it’s equally important to test if another provider can offer a better member experience and better outcomes. It’s critical to know what’s important to you (trustee and employer) to inform you selection criteria. Choosing the right provider isn’t a box tick or a big brand default; it’s an evidence based decision anchored in value for money (VFM) and member outcomes.
To prepare, pension trustees should work on prioritising what they from a potential provider. Is it service quality and SLAs, administration and data integrity, net returns and investment design or great member communications with robust retirement income support? Once known, you can translate those priorities into clear, weighted criteria for comparing providers. With those criteria in place, challenge assumptions using comparable evidence: benchmark net outcomes over meaningful time horizons, test the member experience across digital journeys and contact channels and really interrogate evidence around service standards.
Remember too that this isn’t set and forget. Build in review cycles, KPIs and governance touchpoints. Establish a governance committee with a clear terms of reference for oversight – with professional support and ideally both member and sponsor representation. Ensure exit terms and data handover provisions are clear so the scheme can pivot if value slips.
The goal should always be an auditable, outcomes focused provider choice that aligns with your members’ needs and delivers better long term results.
Future value: planning for the dashboards connection deadline
All in scope pension schemes will need to have connected to the Pensions Dashboard Project (PDP) by October 2026, with most larger schemes having already done so. For those that haven’t, engagement with your scheme’s administrator is key, as is keeping a log of decisions made around dashboards.
Every pension scheme will have incurred significant cost implementing pensions dashboards. It’s vital that trustees and employers don’t simply see this as a compliance cost. They need to get real value for that spend and that’s where effective member communications come in.
Hopefully, at some point this year, PDP will enter the last phase of their testing, and begin a countdown of 6 months until dashboards go live for savers to use. The time leading up to the launch of dashboards will need to be supported by clear communications. From now until launch, communications can help to combat pension scams. Trustees should remind members that whilst dashboards are on the way, anything claiming to give access already isn’t genuine and should be avoided.
Then, as launch arrives, communications should focus on building trust and helping members to access dashboards safely and effectively. Whether your scheme is already digital friendly or dashboards are the catalyst driving you in that direction, think how to maximise this opportunity to engage and support members online. Help members understand how to find out about the benefits they have in your scheme – and how to think about them alongside other pension savings that will be shown on their dashboards.
Dashboards will be truly helpful for many savers, but engagement with them can be driven by trustees and employers as well as the government. It’s your opportunity to generate future value and help members achieve better outcomes.
What do you think will be the big pensions changes in 2026? Get in touch to let us know.
