Pensions - are they of public interest?

It was disappointing to see that pensions were conspicuous by their absence from the King’s Speech this week. On Wednesday 8 November, I hosted the latest RSM UK Technical Update for Pension Schemes. During the session RSM Partner Philip Briggs gave the webinar audience an insightful presentation on key areas affecting those who work in the pensions industry and have an interest in financial reporting matters.

The session covered such topics as audit reform, the future of pension scheme accounting, TCFD reporting and Mansion House reforms, among others.

We broke up the session with some audience straw polls, to gauge opinion on certain topics.

When asked if pension schemes and their accounts are of public interest, exactly half (50%) of the 50 voters said that all schemes are of public interest, while a fifth (20%) said only the very largest are, and 14% said only Master Trusts and other collective arrangements are of public interest. Only 16% voted that no pension schemes are in the public interest.

Given these responses – which show that 84% of the audience think that at least some pension schemes are of public interest - it was disappointing that the King’s Speech this week made no mention at all of pension schemes, nor of audit reform.

Whilst some might regard the absence of further regulation and red tape as a positive, this does leave the industry with unanswered questions with regards to the significant reforms that were being proposed.

Much like the long-awaited General Code, clarity of purpose and future direction can only be helpful for those that work in pensions.

#Pensions #RSM #KingsSpeech