Press release

Publication of DWP Working Paper No. 91: 'Pension scheme administration costs'

Working Paper which presents the findings from research exploring the administrative costs of running occupational pension schemes.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Department for Work and Pensions today publishes a Working Paper which presents the findings from research exploring the administrative costs of running occupational pension schemes.  The research provides a broad assessment of the scale and range of costs involved in administration of pension schemes.

The key findings were as follows:

  • Responding trustee boards with schemes containing 12-999 members tended to face higher running costs per member than trustee boards with 1,000+ members in their schemes.
  • Respondents reported that the annual cost of employing professionals was highest for investment managers at a mean cost per member per year of £63 and lowest for independent financial advisers (for members) at less than £1 per member per year.
  • The most commonly cited priority for deregulation was reducing the levies (spontaneously cited by 12 per cent of responsing schemes), followed by reducing scheme valuation/audit requirements (ten per cent).  Schemes perceived the general and PPF levy to be a significant cost.

Notes for Editors:

  1. DWP Working Paper No. 91 - ‘Pension scheme administration costs’ is available on the DWP website: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
  2. The research was conducted on behalf of the Department by Ipsos-MORI.
  3. The research was not designed to provide nationally representative estimates but indicative figures for the range and scale of costs of operating occupational pension schemes.
Published 30 November 2010