Just under four in 10 (39 per cent) pension and retirement income firms believe the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) acts quickly to prevent harm to consumers in the industry, the lowest confidence of any non-consumer credit sector, underscoring concerns over the regulator’s effectiveness.

In contrast, the FCA and Practitioner Panel 2024/25 survey showed 72 per cent of firms in the retail banking and payments & digital assets sector and 61 per cent of retail lending firms believe the FCA acts quickly.

Additionally, the survey revealed that confidence in the FCA’s broader role is also limited, as only 45 per cent of pension and retirement income firms are confident that the FCA's oversight of the industry delivers on its secondary international competitiveness and growth objective, and 9 per cent believe it effectively promotes international trade.

The survey also showed that only 60 per cent were confident that the FCA delivers on its statutory objective of promoting effective competition in the interests of consumers in the financial markets, while 85 per cent were confident that the FCA delivers on its statutory objective of securing an appropriate degree of protection for consumers.

However, despite the lack of confidence in the speed of preventing harm, 70 per cent of pensions and retirement income firms consider the FCA's anti-money laundering controls to be proportionate.

This was the consensus, as the survey showed that at least seven in 10 firms in each sector agreed that the FCA’s anti-money laundering systems and controls were proportionate.

Additionally, firms were asked to rate how satisfied they are with the relationship they have with the FCA on a scale of one to 10, with one being extremely dissatisfied and 10 being extremely satisfied.

Overall, firms in the pensions sector maintain a generally positive relationship with the FCA, awarding it an average score of 7.1 out of 10, slightly below the overall mean of 7.4, indicating satisfaction, but slightly less than other sectors.

They were also asked how effective the FCA has been in regulating the financial services industry in the last year, to which 68 per cent of firms in the pensions sector responded and said they were effective.

Meanwhile, in terms of volume data requests, over half (57 per cent) of pension and retirement income firms said that the volume of data requests they receive is appropriate, placing them among the most satisfied groups surveyed.

Overall, the FCA said feedback from the survey suggests that the opinions of firms are generally consistent with those from previous years.

It suggested that overall, most respondents continue to have a positive view of the regulator’s performance and consistent trust levels, with 81 per cent reporting that their trust levels had remained the same as the previous year, in relation to its role in delivering strategic priorities and maintaining the integrity of financial markets.

FCA Practitioner Panel chair, Matt Hammerstein, noted that the results highlight both the progress the FCA has made and the areas where further improvement is needed.

“It is encouraging that trust levels, along with perceptions of staff knowledge and experience, have remained steady, and many of the areas for improvement align with priorities set out in the FCA’s new five-year strategy,” he added.

However, the survey also saw firms recommend areas the FCA could improve on.

These areas included the regulator taking further steps to support growth and competitiveness, continuing to reduce unnecessary data requests by asking for only what it needs, and streamlining its supervision approach by reducing the amount of correspondence firms receive.

Commenting on the survey, FCA chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, said: “'Listening to firms of all sizes helps us understand what really matters to them, and the feedback is essential to shaping how we operate.

“By acting on these insights, we can continue to strengthen our effectiveness and be a smarter regulator.”

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