The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has issued new guidance to help trustees and providers improve the quality of pension scheme data through targeted testing and scoring.
Kristy Cotton, Chair of the PASA Data Working Group, emphasised the importance of annual, scheme-specific data testing to accurately reflect data quality, address risks and focus on resolving genuine issues. Low data scores, while not ideal, offer an honest assessment and opportunities for improvement. Effective data scoring enhances efficiency, automation and the member experience.
Key takeaways from the guidance include:
Conducting relevant and targeted data testing to reflect true data quality
Building consistency across the industry to enable data comparison and better data quality understanding
Ensuring trustees can evidence data quality improvements and maintain transparency with rectification plans
Avoiding delays in data testing, even during ongoing rectification projects, to uphold accountability
Fiona Frobisher from The Pensions Regulator welcomed the guidance and encouraged schemes to adopt these good practices to meet minimum standards.
The full PASA Guidance is available online.