The Pensions Regulator has used its powers more than 35,000 times during the first three months of 2020, down from 37,990 in the previous quarter.
The figures published today (June 12) show the majority of its regulatory action was centred on auto-enrolment, with the watchdog issuing 9,913 fixed penalty notices in the first quarter of 2020, down from 11,490 in the previous period.
A fixed penalty notice of £400 is issued to an employer for failure to comply with a statutory notice or some specific employer duties.
The regulator also issued 3,571 escalating penalty notices - which varied between £50 and £10,000 a day depending on the size of the company – a decrease from 5,218 in the previous period.
Mel Charles, TPR’s director of automatic enrolment, said: “The protection of savers is our top priority and maintaining high employer compliance and driving up governance standards is key to that.
“These figures show the action we have taken to ensure employers and trustees meet their responsibilities.
"They are also a result of our proportionate and risk-based approach to enforcement, an approach that is now enabling us to respond the challenges that Covid-19 is bringing to bear on savers and employers alike.”
Meanwhile the Pensions Regulator appointed 91 trustees to ensure the proper administration of pension schemes between January and March.
It issued 52 mandatory penalty notices for no or non-compliant chair’s statements.
During the same period, TPR used its information gathering powers 11 times.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
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