The Pensions Regulator has promised it will be "bolder" in the way it uses its powers, following its prolonged investigation of the BHS pension scheme.
Its promise came in response to a challenge from the Work and Pensions select committee today (3 March) that it "match actions to words" in wake of the BHS settlement.
On Tuesday (27 February), TPR announced it had struck a deal that would see former BHS-owner Sir Philip Green pay £363m into a new pension scheme for ex-employees of the failed retail chain.
While the committee praised the deal, it criticised the regulator's "clunky" approach and called for TPR to be "reformed to intervene sooner when difficulties in a company pension fund become apparent, before problems begin to compound".
In a statement today, committee chair Frank Field said: "What is vital now is that the regulator follows up these promises of change with firm and sustained action.
"We will be monitoring progress closely. We will be taking further evidence on the BHS settlement and the Regulator’s plans for reform."
Responding to Mr Field's comments, a spokesperson for the regulator accepted that it needed to take a tougher stance on defined benefit pension schemes, adding that it was "already changing".
"We’ve increased our front-line resources, including those working on DB funding cases," the spokesperson said, adding that it was already "proactively engaging" with schemes earlier to prevent problems arising.
The spokesperson said the regulator was pursuing more cases and "being bolder in the use of our powers, including testing powers we’ve made less use of in the past".
They went on: "But we acknowledge there’s still more to do. We’re reviewing our regulatory approach, as recognised by the committee. People can expect to see us move to enforcement more quickly in future, and there will be other changes as well."
Last week, the government launched a green paper on the future of the DB sector.
Among the paper's key considerations were whether to give TPR more powers to prevent more schemes collapsing.
They also included proposals for a DB "superfund" and for changes to pension increases linked to inflation, both of which could ease the burden on schemes with struggling employers.
Following the agreement with Sir Philip, a number of experts predicted a rise in so-called "zombie schemes", whereby pension schemes are structured so that they do not have a sponsoring employer.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
