The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has published new guidance to strengthen career development and progression across pensions administration, amid concerns about unclear career pathways and rapidly evolving skills requirements in the profession.

The guidance, Building Career Pathways in Pensions Administration, has been developed by PASA's Administration Careers & Development Working Group and sets out an initial framework to provide greater consistency and a clearer understanding of roles across the sector.

PASA said the administration profession is becoming increasingly specialised, technology-enabled and strategically important, but argued that career pathways are not always clearly defined or consistently understood across the industry.

The guidance identifies a number of challenges facing the sector, including inconsistent role definitions, unclear progression routes, the growing impact of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and difficulties in recognising and developing the broader skills needed for modern administrative roles.

As part of the framework, PASA has identified eight job 'families' commonly found across pensions administration, covering areas such as member operations, technical expertise, operational risk, client relationship management, project delivery, business change and digital transformation, technology and systems enablement, scheme finance, and operational leadership.

The guidance also introduces a new 'Skills Compass', designed to help individuals understand how different administration roles rely on varying combinations of technical pensions knowledge, operational capability and behavioural skills, rather than fitting within a traditional linear career hierarchy.

Commenting on the publication, PASA chair, David Fairs, said: "Administration plays a critical role in delivering good outcomes for members and is increasingly recognised as a strategic function within the pensions industry.

"As the profession evolves, it's important that career pathways are clearer, skills are more visible, and individuals can better understand the breadth of opportunities available to them.

"This guidance represents an important first step in supporting greater consistency and shared understanding across the industry, while recognising organisations will continue to deliver and structure roles in different ways.

"By helping strengthen professional development and workforce resilience, this work ultimately supports better outcomes for schemes and members."

PASA director and board sponsor of the Administration Careers & Development Working Group, Dan Taylor, added that the profession has changed significantly in recent years.

"Alongside strong technical pensions knowledge, the industry increasingly needs skills in technology, data, operational risk, project delivery, communication and change management," he argued.

"One of the key aims of this work is to make careers across administration more visible and easier to navigate, particularly through the middle stages of a career where progression routes are not always obvious.

"We want individuals to see the wide variety of opportunities available and to recognise there are multiple ways to build a successful and rewarding career within pensions administration."

The guidance has also received backing from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), with PMI chief learning officer, Vanessa Jackson, describing it as a "timely and valuable contribution" to the industry.

Jackson noted that the framework would provide much-needed clarity around career progression during a period of rapid change and align with wider efforts to professionalise pensions administration through qualifications, skills pathways and capability development.

Looking ahead, PASA said the next phase of work will focus on exploring capability levels across different job families, identifying the technical and behavioural skills needed at various career stages, and considering how PASA standards can align with existing professional qualifications and development initiatives.

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