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Open call for evidence

Automatic enrolment: alternative quality requirements for workplace schemes (DB, Hybrid and CDC)

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Summary

This call for evidence seeks views on whether the alternative benefit quality requirements for UK defined benefit (DB), hybrid, and Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pension schemes are operating as intended. It invites employers, employee representatives, and other pension industry professionals to submit their feedback.

This call for evidence closes at

Call for evidence description

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is required to carry out a statutory review of the operation of regulations made under section 23A(1) of the Pensions Act 2008.

Regulations made under section 23A(1) set out the alternative quality requirements for defined benefit pension schemes that are used for automatic enrolment. The requirements allow for simpler alternative tests to be used so that a scheme can demonstrate that it is of sufficient quality to be used by employers to fulfil their automatic enrolment duties. This call for evidence aims to ascertain whether the government’s policy objectives are being met, how the simplifications and flexibilities operate in practice, and whether any new issues have arisen since the last review in 2023.

DWP is also required to carry out a statutory review of the alternative quality requirements for defined contribution (DC) and collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes made under section 28(2)(b) of the Pensions Act 2008. To assist this review, this call for evidence also seeks views on the alternative quality requirement available to both single or connected employer and unconnected multiple employer CDC schemes as set out in regulation 32AE of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010.

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Updates to this page

Published 16 June 2026

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