I’m Darren Ryder, and I head up the case management section of our automatic enrolment team.
As a regulator, we oversee thousands of pension schemes– most of which (you’ll be glad to know) run well with no problems. However, if there comes a time where a problem arises in a scheme that worries you, we have a whistleblowing service so you can make us aware of the issue.
It may be a problem that has happened already, is happening now, or you think is going to happen in the future.
It might be related to a potential scam, an employer who may not have paid pension contributions over, or an employer who might not have enrolled staff into a pension scheme when they should have.
Whatever the issue, if you have concerns, or you think an employer, trustee or scheme manager is not complying with the law, then report it to us.
It’s now easier than ever to do this – we’ve improved our web forms, used clearer language and generally made the reporting experience simpler. It’s easier to find what you’re looking for and we’ve published new guidelines on the information you can send to us.
We have many horizon-scanning and intelligence channels that feed into TPR, and whistleblowing is one of them – we receive an average of 240 reports a month. Whilst we’re experienced at investigating complex issues and navigating through huge amounts of information, whistleblowing can often give us further evidence about employers or organisations, which can help us form a case and challenge the issue.
Additionally, when problems are first raised, the scale is not always obvious. Whistleblowing reports from a number of different people on the same issue will strengthen our case for tackling a particular issue.
It’s important to raise awareness about this service so we’re looking to our stakeholders to share the message widely – which will help us to protect members by ensuring they’re in safe, well-run schemes.
Check out our website for more information on what to report and how.
By Darren Ryder
Head of Case Management