The Pensions Schemes Bill remains a hot topic in the industry, as industry experts continue to get to grips with the detail and look to prepare for the upcoming changes.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) reiterated its call for trustees and providers to take action in reaction to the bill, with TPR interim director of policy and public affairs, Patrick Coyne, urging industry action across all four themes of the bill.

The Financial Fairness Trust also weighed in on the topic, calling for a range of improvements to the bill to help lower earners, including strengthening the bill by requiring pension providers to include incomes ‘for life’ as part of default solutions.

And broader reforms could also be needed, as new research by Nest Insights, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), found that a default approach could significantly help narrow the retirement savings gap among the self-employed.

Another key reform in the bill that has been discussed by the industry this week is the safe release of defined benefit (DB) surplus.

This was highlighted by the official launch of the Endgame Perspectives Group (EPG), a cross-sector initiative, which launched in response to DB schemes facing crucial endgame decisions at an “unprecedented pace” and the new rules around DB surplus as part of the bill.

The plans to safely release DB surplus were included as part of the bill, as well as in response to the options for DB schemes consultation.

Supporting this, LCP’s latest Pensions Explorer revealed continued strong funding levels for FTSE 100 DB schemes amid ongoing legislative and regulatory activity.

In other big industry DB news this week, Clara Pensions completed a “landmark” transaction with the Church Mission Society (CMS) Pension Scheme.

The transaction was significant as it was not only the first deal to utilise Clara’s ‘connected covenant’ structure, but it also represented the first superfund transaction involving a not-for-profit sponsor - an important signal of how the market for DB consolidators is beginning to diversify and mature.

On the administrative front, the Cabinet Office came under scrutiny this week after a National Audit Office (NAO) report found it had failed to hold the current Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) administrator, MyCSP, to account.

With Capita preparing to take over the administration of the CSPS, NAO called for urgent action to resolve ongoing service issues to avoid further disruption.

The situation raises questions about accountability, transparency, and service delivery in large-scale pension schemes.

Meanwhile, in a move reflecting the growing focus on long-term saver outcomes, Phoenix Group’s think tank, Phoenix Insights, announced its rebrand to the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement.

The group said that the rebrand reflects a renewed commitment to improving long-term financial security for UK savers, aligning with the broader industry shift toward more member-focused outcomes and innovation in later-life planning.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s Local Authority conference also took place at the start of the week, bringing together industry experts to discuss critical topics related to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Some of the key takeaways from the event included experts urging that LGPS independent governance review requirements on compliance must be more than a tick-exercise and LGPS local investments may slow down as a result of greater consolidation.

It is no surprise that consolidation was a widely discussed topic at the conference, considering the government’s push for consolidation.

In other news from the conference, Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) principal, Chris Curry, confirmed that he was confident by the end of the summer, that all its voluntary participants would have completed their connections.

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