The Pension Regulator’s Governance in Trust-Based Pension Schemes: Findings from the 2026 Trustee Survey provides a valuable lens on how governance is evolving across the trust-based pensions market. But while governance scores generally increase with scheme size, the findings suggest scale is only part of the picture. More formal governance arrangements - including appointed chairs, professional trustee involvement and access to wider expertise - are also more commonly associated with stronger governance.
The research also highlights areas where practice continues to evolve, including alignment with the General Code, ESOG and ORA activity, trustee development, succession planning and demonstrating improvements in member outcomes.
I believe that the significance lies less in any individual finding and more in the direction of travel. Strong compliance foundations remain essential. But effective governance increasingly also depends on governance capability - whether trustees have the collective knowledge, capacity, information, and support to translate those foundations into effective oversight and well-informed decisions.
There is no single model for achieving this. The right approach will reflect each scheme’s size, structure, and complexity. The more useful question is whether governance arrangements continue to give trustees what they need to challenge constructively, navigate emerging risks, draw on appropriate expertise, and maintain a clear focus on member outcomes.
As expectations evolve, this creates an opportunity to look beyond the presence of governance processes and consider what they enable in practice. And that is where governance maturity is heading: strong frameworks, supported by the capability to turn effective oversight into confident decision-making and better outcomes for members.
