ED&I Action Plan for UK Pension Trustees

The UK’s Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) action plan, which aims to “boost diversity and inclusion across trustee boards”. The plan shows the steps TPR will take to “encourage and support” trustees in the recruiting of diverse candidates and creating a “culture of inclusion”. The plan, developed in partnership with the Diversity and Inclusion Industry Working Group (IWG), also outlines “clear expectations on diversity” in addition to providing practical tools and information on recruiting diverse candidates. TPR found just 10% of defined benefit (DB) schemes and 14% of defined contribution (DC) schemes were collecting trustee diversity data. TPR will develop a mechanism for collecting and using diversity data in the longer term to measure success, set ED&I expectations in a single code of practice and publish guidance in partnership with the IWG to help trustees “understand and meet TPR’s expectations”. David Fairs, TPR’s Executive Director of Regulatory Policy Analysis and Advice, said: “The status quo is not acceptable. Trustee boards that are not diverse risk knowledge gaps, entrenched ideas, biased thinking and poor decision making which puts savers at a disadvantage. We want to see trustee boards with a wide range of perspectives, knowledge and skills and where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and challenge from different perspectives.” 

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