TPR advises on Covid-19 contingency plans

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged trustees to put appropriate monitoring and contingency plans in place to account for the financial risks of Covid-19 to their schemes.

In a statement the regulator said it was “engaging with the pensions industry to understand the pressure it faces from Covid-19 and to help minimise any impact on savers.”

Trustees should have a business continuity plan in place that sets out what actions would be taken if certain events take place that would impact the running of their scheme, as well as understanding their service providers’ business continuity arrangements.

That includes understanding what contingency is in place to mitigate any under-resource due to an increase in work volumes or unavailable staff, TPR said.

“They will also want to establish which scheme activities would be prioritised in the event of under-resourcing, for example pensioner payments, retirement processing and bereavement services, and confirm this with their administrators / providers,” the regulator added.

The regulator said it was engaging with key administrators to understand their current preparedness to manage the impact of the Covid-19.