PASA exists for a single purpose: to promote and improve the quality of pensions administration services for UK pension schemes.
We are a Community Interest Company, set up as a not for profit organisation and a membership-only organisation – run by members for members. PASA members (both corporate and individual) have a passion for improving services for the benefit of scheme members, scheme sponsors and those charged with the oversight of pension arrangements.
PASA was set up in 2011 by a small group of like-minded industry thought leaders. Since then we’ve successfully grown our membership and introduced a set of administration standards against which members can be assessed and accredited.
Accreditation is an important aspect of PASA membership. Today, organisations such as The Pensions Regulator (TPR) are getting behind the need for administration services to be independently assessed and are actively encouraging trustees to select an administrator which has gained independent accreditation.
We’re extremely proud to have been instrumental in the recognition for independent accreditation and in setting the high standards for pensions administration, which are now becoming the norm. With the support of our members we will continue to lobby for improved quality and to set the benchmark for pensions administration in the UK.
What we’ve achieved
Since we formed in 2011, we’ve:
- Built a set of standards which are recognised as setting the benchmark for what high-quality administration looks like
- Designed, piloted and launched an independently-assessed accreditation programme
- Introduced a Code of Practice on the transfer of administration services between providers to assist in the smooth transfer of services between suppliers
- Participated in the Pensions Liberation Industry Group and helped to draw up a Code of Good Practice to help schemes and members avoid scammers who don’t have the members’ interests at heart
- Responded to a number of government consultations where they potentially impinge on the great work administrators do
- Created a number of productive working groups focused on important administration issues – leading the industry effort to support the work which every scheme in the UK has to address
- Issued consultations to our members on error management and the original PASA standards.
- Issued Industry Guidance on GMP Reconciliation & Rectification, DC Governance, Data, DB Transfers, GMP Equalisation and Cyber Security.
- Delivered an all-day administration focused pensions conference, which has become an annual feature in the industry calendar.
We’re proud to be an active voice for our industry and to make a difference to the lives of pension scheme members across the UK.
Looking ahead to the future
At PASA we never sit still. Our future plans include:
- Publishing more examples of good practice for our members, to help them differentiate their operations from those of non-members
- Lobbying for the voice of pensions administration to be heard
- Working closely with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), Treasury and TPR to contribute to the debate around good quality administration
- Consulting with our members to identify other areas where they believe we can enhance the benefits which PASA can deliver to its members. For example, introducing a scheme sponsor PASA membership category; developing the principles we believe are relevant to defining and mitigating errors in pensions administration; increasing the quality of the outcome for scheme members and the provision for an improved service for scheme trustees