Minimum standards could drive a “step-change” in quality across areas such as administration platforms and integrated service providers, claims insurance tech firm Lumera.
In its response to the Department of Work and Pensions consultation on trustees and governance, Lumera stated that such reforms would enable the industry to build on good practice standards that are already in place across the market.
However, according to the firm it would be better for the DWP to concentrate on enabling existing regulated entities, primarily trustees, to enforce minimum standards rather than building new authorisation regimes.
Maurice Titley, commercial director for data and dashboards at Lumera, says: “By focusing on minimum standards, rather than adding layers of regulation that could inadvertently slow down progress, we can ensure a more effective and streamlined approach to this new but critical area of pensions administration.”
In its response, Lumera went on to claim that in the case of ISPs, minimum standards could go further than existing guidance on good practice, such as that issued by the Pensions Administration Standards Association. For example, a minimum standard for ‘matching’ could ensure that specific schemes do not flood the dashboards universe with bad responses and data, hampering the user experience.