While many in the industry are soaking up the summer sun, policy and governance developments have continued to roll in.

On the regulatory front, The Pensions Regulator confirmed that more than £2.5m will be paid into the Danapak Flexibles Retirement Benefits Scheme following a recent court ruling and prior enforcement action.

Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it is considering ways to streamline and enhance its sustainability reporting framework for asset managers, life insurers, and FCA-regulated pension providers, aiming to ease “unnecessary” burdens.

Industry research supported these findings, with research from Isio revealing that while asset managers continue to raise the bar on sustainable investing, concerns remain around climate reporting and disclosure.

And whilst the House of Commons has risen for summer recess, the measures included in the Pension Schemes Bill have remained forefront for many in the industry, as the Pension Protection Fund recently confirmed it is putting the 2025/26 levy invoicing on hold, in order to keep the door open for a zero levy for conventional schemes next year.

The industry has also been working to ensure that there will be plenty to progress once parliament returns, with several organisations responding to the consultation on Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) changes, aimed at boosting fairness and tackling inequality.

In particular, there have been calls for more detail, particularly on how administering authorities should identify potential beneficiaries and on measures relating to the gender pensions gap.

Also on the LGPS front, Access Pool acknowledged that its 11 partner funds are unlikely to settle on a single pooling partner, signalling a potential split ahead of the government’s 30 September 2025 deadline for selecting a pooling partner.

Shifting focus from pooling arrangements to broader scheme management, the Pensions Administration Standards Association has also stepped up by issuing new guidance aimed at improving data security.

The association urged trustees, administrators, and providers to adopt a "proactive and dynamic" approach to data security, sharing new guidance to help strengthen governance amid rapidly evolving cyber threats.

Highlighting the importance of data security, Capita's half-year results revealed that it is still dealing with the fallout of the March 2023 cyber incident, as it remains in ongoing discussions with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

In other governance concerns, the Public and Commercial Services Union warned that the Civil Service Pension Scheme is at a “crisis point” and could be at risk of collapse, prompting calls for its administration to be brought back in-house.

On a more positive note, this week Broadstone reported that defined benefit (DB) pension scheme funding levels continued to improve in July 2025 despite ongoing global market uncertainty.

Adding to the good news, a freedom of information response from the Department for Work and Pensions revealed that the state pension gender pensions gap has been almost completely eliminated for people retiring today.

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