The Mercer Master Trust has been granted authorisation by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), becoming the 11th DC master trust to gain approval.

It currently serves 71,000 savers in the UK, has assets of around £2.2bn and focuses on “supporting employers in offering a secure and sustainable retirement arrangement for members”.

Commenting on the announcement, Mercer partner, Roger Breeden, said: “The bar set by TPR was high and appropriately so, given the importance of delivering retirement income to members across the UK.

“The regulator has communicated in an open and transparent way throughout the process, which has helped to ensure that we were able to provide all the detail of the unique structure of the Mercer Master Trust.”

Mercer’s authorisation means that there are now 28 mater trusts waiting for approval, according to TPR’s most recently monthly figures.

Last week (2 July), four master trusts were approved by TPR: The Pensions Trust, Fidelity and two Standard Life master trusts – the Standard Life DC master trust and Stanplan A.

They joined The BlueSky Pension Scheme, The Crystal Trust, Legal & General WorkSave Mastertrust, Legal & General WorkSave Mastertrust (RAS), LifeSight and the Universities Superannuation Scheme on the list of authorised master trusts.

Mercer Master Trust chair, Alan Pickering, added: “Reaching this important milestone has required a considerable amount of hard work on the part of the trustees, their advisers and the staff at Mercer.

“This authorisation will help improve the outcomes for both members and participating employers.

“As trustees, we do not regard this as job done. Authorisation is an event, while good governance must be an on-going process. Knowing my fellow trustees as I do, continuous improvement will be the name of the game going forward.”

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