TPR blog urges schemes to design default retirement solutions around real-world contribution patterns
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a blog post highlighting that default retirement solutions must reflect real contribution patterns, noting that uneven earnings, caring responsibilities and career breaks significantly affect how savers build a sustainable income in retirement. TPR explains that as schemes start preparing to implement default retirement solutions under the guided retirement duty of the Pension Schemes Bill, trustees should consider such predictable, systemic risks in members’ working lives. This does not require fully bespoke solutions, but it does mean using existing data—such as contribution histories, pot sizes and age profiles—to identify if there are any clear cohorts where modest differentiation could materially improve outcomes. Just as schemes already adjust investment strategies by age through lifestyling, they should recognise that contribution patterns, including career breaks, are economically significant and may justify modest differentiation in default solutions.