FOI reference: FOI-64
Date: 14 December 2022
Request
You have requested the following information:
I’m trying to get up-to-date figures on the size of the DC market (based on assets under administration). I’ve reviewed this data: DC trust: scheme return data 2021 to 2022. There are two figures on the page that are useful for what I’m doing:
- “There are 36 authorised master trusts, accounting for 20.7 million DC memberships, including hybrid schemes, and over £78.8 billion in assets, excluding hybrid schemes (see Table 10 below).”
- “Reported asset values are now £113.5 billion, an increase of £26 billion or 30% since last year and 413% since the beginning of 2012 (Table 3.1 and Figure 3 below).”
I assume the £78.8bn isn’t part of the £113.5bn – please can you confirm if that is right?
I believe the asset figures above cover all DC scheme except:
- DC sections of hybrid schemes
- Micro schemes
- Contract-based workplace and non-workplace pensions
Do you collect assets under administration data for DC sections of hybrid schemes and micro schemes that you could share please?
Also, can you recommend a source of data for contract-based workplace and contract-based non-workplace pensions please?
Response
I can confirm that we hold information falling within scope of your request.
Information we are able to supply
We can confirm that £78.8bn Master Trust assets are part of the £113.5bn UK occupational DC assets, as per our DC trust: scheme return data 2021 to 2022.
DC hybrid schemes
We hold, and therefore can provide, the market value for dual section hybrid schemes. A dual-section hybrid scheme has two sections - one offering DC benefits and the other offering DB benefits. In line with the latest DC trust: scheme return data 2021 to 2022, this aggregated figure is provided by pensions schemes from the pension schemes register as of 31 December 2021. The market value of DC scheme assets (which includes DC additional voluntary contributions (AVCs)) for Dual Section Hybrid schemes is £55.7bn.
Micro schemes
We hold, and therefore can provide, the market value of assets for micro DC schemes. However, the data quality is extremely poor as some schemes provide incorrect asset figures. The aggregated assets figure as provided by micro DC pensions schemes from the pension schemes register as at 31 December 2021 is £1.2 trillion. The potentially incorrect asset figures could account for 97% of that value, meaning the true market value of assets could be as low as £34bn. Potentially incorrect data was defined as any scheme having assets of more than £10bn or £5bn per member, and account for less than 1% of all micro DC schemes.
Please note, due to our risk-based approach around micro schemes and the potentially historical nature of this data, which may or may not have been updated, we cannot speak to the accuracy of this data.
In relation to contract-based workplace and contract-based non-workplace pensions, your request might be better answered by the Financial Conduct Authority and their FoIA team. However, we cannot confirm if the FCA has the information you have requested.