As October gets underway, the pensions sector has seen no slowdown in activity, with scrutiny of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) effectiveness taking centre stage this week alongside key updates on dashboards, redress reform, and the approach of the Autumn Budget.

The FCA released its FCA and Practitioner Panel 2024/25 survey this week, which revealed that the pension industry has the lowest confidence of any non-consumer credit sector in the FCA’s speed in preventing harm to consumers in the industry, reflecting ongoing concerns about regulatory effectiveness.

In other FCA news, industry experts have also broadly welcomed the proposed changes by the FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service to modernise the redress framework.

However, both Aegon and The Investing and Saving Alliance have warned that the proposed referral mechanism, between the FCA and FOS, could introduce new risks if not carefully designed and governed.

Other developments this week have gained the spotlight, with the PDP confirming that the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard is entering the next phase of testing.

A small group of users will now access real dashboards with real pensions data, following earlier rounds of usability and expert testing. PDP plans to run several more low-volume tests over the coming months, starting this month.

Meanwhile, in other industry developments, Pensions UK has confirmed it will go ahead with changes to its subscription model and membership categories from 2026, following consultation with members earlier this year.

The updates include fee increases for some members, with the maximum subscription for fund members rising from £23,405 to £35,000 over three years - impacting its 22 largest members.

In other news, the Financial Reporting Council confirmed it will develop technical guidance to support scheme actuaries in confirming historic pension scheme amendments, following forthcoming legislation prompted by the Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Pension Trustees case.

As we creep closer to the Autumn Budget, discussion has increased in recent weeks around potential tax changes, particularly around pensions and inheritance tax (IHT).

AJ Bell has launched a parliamentary petition calling for the government to commit to a “pension tax lock”, preserving key incentives such as the 25 per cent tax-free cash allowance and existing pension tax relief arrangements for the remainder of this parliament.

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) also warned that including unused pension funds and death benefits within IHT could place significant burdens on administrators and personal representatives.

Given this, the SPP has urged the government to provide clear guidance and sufficient time for implementation if such changes go ahead.

Meanwhile, Aegon cautioned that speculation over possible Budget changes is driving some savers to make hasty decisions that could backfire.

On the defined benefit (DB) side, there were major updates this week with TPT Retirement Solutions announcing plans just yesterday that it will launch a DB superfund designed to support run-on, having already secured capital to fund the first £1bn of transactions.

The proposed superfund aims to increase the likelihood that members receive full benefits, with distributions from the surplus from year five onwards rising once investor capital has been returned.

This news coincides with Standard Life research surveying 100 DB trustees, each managing schemes with assets of £100m or more, found that superfunds remain a niche endgame option, with only 3 per cent of trustees actively exploring them.

According to Standard Life, this reflects trustees’ preference for the certainty and security offered by insurers, with 34 per cent citing member security as the main reason for considering a buy-in.

These findings come against a backdrop of improving funding positions across the DB landscape, with Broadstone’s latest Sirius Index reporting that DB pension schemes have recorded a fifth consecutive month of funding improvements, despite ongoing economic and political uncertainty.

Similarly, XPS Group estimated that DB schemes maintained a £222bn aggregate surplus against long-term funding targets - an increase of £2bn in September and £48bn year-on-year.

However, research this week showed that not all schemes are equally positioned.

Broadstone analysis found that smaller DB schemes are at greater risk of financial losses from climate change than larger schemes. Modelling by the consultancy showed that UK DB schemes face differing levels of exposure depending on their size and maturity, with those holding under £5m in assets and less mature schemes particularly vulnerable.

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