New regulations that came into force in April 2018 mean that defined contribution (DC) and hybrid schemes must publish certain information on disclosure and costs as part of the Chair’s Statement.
This information must be published online and be readily available without having to log in to a secured website.

The government has also outlined potential future legislation requiring defined benefit (DB) schemes to publish a Chair’s Statement. This would report on the Chair’s key funding decisions and their approach to managing risk, among other requirements. This is not yet law but should be best practice for trustees of DB schemes.

Further scheme requirements

The government has confirmed that from 1 October 2019 pension scheme trustees will be subject to new requirements regarding scheme information.

The regulation says they must consider the impact of their investments in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and ensure they explain the extent to which members’ views are taken into account.

Statement of investment principles (SIP)

From 1 October 2020 trustees will be required to produce an annual implementation statement, which sets out to what extent the statement of investment principles (SIP) has been followed during the scheme year and explaining any changes that may have occurred. This statement must be available on a public website which is free of charge. Trustees should then inform members of its availability via the annual benefit statement.

Again, this information must be published online and be readily available without having to log in.