Dashboard readiness is top challenge for DB schemes
Image: Bhullar Graphic/Pexels
Pardon the Interruption
This article is just an example of the content available to mallowstreet members.
On average over 150 pieces of new content are published from across the industry per month on mallowstreet. Members get access to the latest developments, industry views and a range of in-depth research.
All the content on mallowstreet is accredited for CPD by the PMI and is available to trustees for free.
Dashboards readiness is by far the greatest challenge for defined benefit trustees in the coming 12 months, a new survey of 100 trustees from schemes ranging between £100m and £10bn has found.
The report by TPT Retirement Solutions suggests that 38% of respondents see dashboards readiness as the main challenge over the coming months. This is followed by endgame planning, cited by 31%, up from 16% in 2024. A further priority is liquidity and collateral management, according to 30% of respondents.
The findings form part of a report from TPT's 'DB Trustee Pulse 2026', which found member communications and expectations was fourth on the list.
Biggest challenges trustees expect their scheme(s) to contend with over the next 12 months
Source: TPT
“For a number of years, the industry conversation was dominated by funding, de-risking and endgame planning. Those priorities have not gone away, but there is now greater recognition of the growing practical realities trustees face in overseeing a pension scheme. Dashboards, governance, data, administration and implementation projects all compete for the same time and resource,” said Nicholas Clapp, commercial director at TPT.
TPT's head of consultant relations Katherine Lynas said: “What we are seeing is that operational complexity is becoming a strategic issue. Trustees are evaluating endgame options while also thinking about how much governance, resource and ongoing management each route requires. That's why consolidation options that provide scale and simplicity are becoming increasingly important considerations.”
While endgame planning remains one of the key challenges, other concerns are less prominent than in 2024, notably around accessing different asset classes (down from 29% to 24%) and data quality (from 21% in 2024 to 16% this year).
Trustees of schemes with less than £1bn in assets under management were more likely to name endgame options as a challenge (42%). They are also more likely to be concerned about running costs, cited by 30% compared to 26% across all schemes, and staffing capacity, cited by 26% – among all schemes this was only 18%.
What are the hurdles DB schemes need to overcome to be dashboard ready?
