Pensions UK will increase membership fees for pension funds as it seeks to rebalance contributions and strengthen the value it provides to members.
The decision follows both informal and formal consultations with members on changes to its subscription model.
The association said it met “almost all” affected members in May and June to gather feedback. Of those, 36 were positive or broadly positive about the plans, six were neutral, and seven raised concerns. A formal consultation launched on 23 July drew five responses, three of which focused on points of detail.
Pensions UK’s report of the consultation said the restructuring of the pensions landscape across private defined benefit and defined contribution schemes, master trusts and the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) means there will soon be “fewer, bigger providers”.
“As a not-for-profit, we have to be realistic about the contributions we need, especially from our larger schemes,” it said.
It added that large members, particularly master trusts, derive increasing value from its policy work, committees and events, and that depending on business members to fund 60% of its work for fund members was “not sustainable”.
“We saw during the Covid pandemic the huge impact on our finances when we could not run our events. We need to address this issue,” the association said.
The maximum subscription for fund members will rise from £23,405 to £35,000. Master trust and business members will be divided into three categories.
Business members with a master trust will have their subscriptions merged into a single “multi” membership, based on the master trust’s assets under management (AUM). The banding will increase, with the cap rising to £50,000 for £10bn of AUM.
Non-commercial master trusts and collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes will continue to have fees based on AUM, with the same new £50,000 cap at the £10bn level.
For business members, subscription levels will remain unchanged. A new membership category will be created for LGPS funds, with the maximum fee staying at £23,405.
The changes will be phased in over three years, from 2026 to 2028.
“These plans mean some members will be asked to pay more, but we will also increase the value they get for their money, for example through more focused engagement with them on policy issues and the planning of our conference programmes,” the association said.
“There will be no extra cost at all for many parts of our membership, such as LGPS funds, smaller and medium-sized schemes, and business members that do not run master trusts.”
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