Defined contribution (DC) now accounts for 27 per cent of workplace pension memberships, with 30 per cent of active DC members being in trust-based schemes and 70 per cent in contract-based schemes, the latest data from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has revealed.

On 31 December 2012, there were 5,590 DB schemes, of which 910 were open, with almost 8 million members. In the DC market, 38,690 are trust-based and 1,780 are contract-based, of which respectively 29,230 and 1,570 are open schemes.

Since 1997 the number of schemes has dropped by over 40 per cent, although membership has declined by only 6 per cent.

Over the last four years, the number of ‘micro schemes’ has declined by 20 per cent or nearly 9,000 schemes, while the number of small and medium schemes decreased by 31 per cent, from 4,180 in 2009 to 2.870 in 2012.

The proportion of members aged 50 or above has increased from 18 per cent in 2009 to 24 per cent in 2012. In the same period, the mean average assets per member in schemes with more than 12 members increased from £14,400 to £18,900 (not index-linked).

The regulator’s head of DC regulation Darran Burton said: “We are focused on achieving good outcomes for members of all DC schemes, both the existing stock of schemes and new offerings for automatic enrolment.

"Our research clearly demonstrates that large DC schemes are better able to deliver value for money and good governance. These figures point to a significant reduction in the number of micro schemes, with a more slight reduction in the numbers of smaller schemes.

"In light of the huge rise expected in DC memberships as a result of automatic enrolment, we also intend to increase the information we hold in key areas such as the movement of memberships and scheme assets.”

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