The Pensions Regulator has revealed that it has not made any changes to its staff determination procedure rules following a consultation on the matter.

In a document outlining the rules, the industry watchdog has explained how it makes decisions on issues such as certain trustee appointments as well as issuing clearance and improvements notices. These are made by the executive arm of the regulator rather than the Determinations Panel.

The SDP is aimed at providing more detail about determinations in order to promote greater clarity and to improve the regulator’s interaction with the pensions industry.

During the consultation, consultancy firm Mercer suggested the SDP should include other functions covered by the regulator which fell outside of the prescribed list in section 93 of the Pensions Act 2004.

The suggestion was rejected, but in a response to the consultation the regulator said that it wanted to reassure Mercer and the wider pension sector that it had controls in place to "ensure that our actions are reasonable and try to explain them to affected parties to meet these principles".

Speaking about the SDP, interim chief executive at The Pensions Regulator, Stephen Soper, said: 
“I am pleased to issue the SDP which shows we are serious about constantly reviewing our procedures with the aim of making them as transparent as possible to help organisations understand how we work and what to expect from us when using our powers.”

The SDP can be viewed here.

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