Additional information and resources to help you prepare for and complete a scheme return for defined benefit (DB) schemes and those offering mixed benefits (hybrid).
See scheme return for further information about completing the scheme return, including the most common queries.
Important
You must complete your scheme return and submit it to us by 31 March 2025.
New questions and updates this year
New questions about scheme member data quality
Please note: this section of the scheme return was previously called record-keeping.
As a pension trustee or someone running a public service scheme you are responsible for making sure the scheme has good records. This is still the case if you use a third-party administrator.
To manage a scheme properly you need to make sure it has accurate, complete and up-to-date records. You should have controls and processes in place to maintain these standards.
This year, we have introduced some additional questions regarding the quality of the data you keep on scheme members. These changes are made to bring the questions more in line with our expectations and the general code.
We will ask you to confirm if you have measured your scheme’s common or scheme specific data in the last year. This is a change in approach from previous scheme returns, where we asked if you had measured this data in the past three years.
To reflect how the focus of this section of the scheme return has changed, we have also renamed it scheme member data quality.
- Have you measured the scheme’s common data in the last 12 months?
- Have you assessed the need for a data review exercise on the scheme's common data within the last 12 months?
- How frequently do you review the scheme’s common data?
- When did you last measure the scheme’s common data?
- What is the scheme’s common data score?
- Have you measured the scheme specific data in the last 12 months?
- Have you assessed the need for a data review exercise on the scheme specific data within the last 12 months?
- How frequently do you review the scheme specific data?
- When did you last measure the scheme specific data?
- What is the scheme specific data score?
New questions about scheme membership details
This year, we will ask for more recent information regarding your scheme members.
We use this information to calculate the General Levy payable for the year starting 1 April 2025.
- What is the effective date of the scheme membership? (the scheme year end date that falls between 01/04/2023 and 31/03/2024)
- Number of members with defined contribution only benefits as at the effective date (active, deferred and pensioners)
- Number of members with defined benefits only as at the effective date (active, deferred and pensioners)
- Number of members with partial defined benefits as at the effective date (active, deferred and pensioners)
New questions about investment consultancy providers
This year, we have introduced new questions about the performance of your investment consultancy provider against and objectives that have been set. We will ask about performance against the objectives and whether these objectives have been reviewed.
- Have the trustees of the scheme set strategic objectives for the investment consultancy provider?
- If so, when were these objectives set?
- When did the trustees last review the performance of the provider against objectives?
- If there has not been a performance review, explain why.
- When did the trustees last review the objectives?
- If there has not been a review of the objectives, explain why.
When to complete your scheme return
Complete your scheme return and submit it to us by 31 March 2025.
Prepare for your scheme return
Update your scheme contacts using Exchange
Before taking any other action, please log into Exchange and make sure your scheme contact details are up to date. This is so we can make sure the scheme return is sent to the right person along with any further communications.
Make sure you can get the information you need
Take some time to familiarise yourself with your previous scheme return and gather the information you might need. You can generate your previous scheme returns on the Scheme Maintenance section of your scheme return.
We no longer provide an example scheme return. If this is your first scheme return, you can familiarise yourself with the scheme return information requirements and any related guidance.
Find the scheme rules, the latest annual report and accounts and any recent statements of the scheme assets and contributions ahead of time.
Contact any third parties that may hold the required information in good time, as it may take time for them to provide it to you.
If you have any queries about the scheme return, contact us.
Sections of the scheme details you can complete in Exchange now
You don’t need to wait until we request the scheme return before starting some sections of the scheme details in Exchange. You can review and update categories from the following sections now.
Any changes you make to these sections will save automatically and will be pre-populated in the scheme return.
Contact details
- Scheme return contact details
- TPR Levy contact
- Pension tracing contact
- Pensions dashboard primary contact
Scheme details
- Scheme name and address
- Scheme status and HMRC reference
- Hybrid details
- Scheme investments
- Small scheme details
- Executive pension scheme
- AVC providers
- Charge restrictions and notification
- Restriction on early exit charges
Trustee details
- Individual trustees
- Corporate trustees
Service providers
- Insurers
- Scheme auditor
- Scheme actuary
- Scheme administrator
Financial details
- S179 valuation
- Part 3 funding valuation
- Scheme in surplus
- Value at risk calculation
- Buy–out calculation
- Asset–backed contributions
- Indexation / GMP / NPA
- Incentive exercises
- Liability hedging
- Assessing credit risk for bonds
Employers
- Current employer details
- Multi–employer scheme structure
Investment service
- Fiduciary managers
- Investment consultancy providers
Complete your scheme return
Complete and submit your scheme return to us using Exchange, our online service.
If you have a query and need to contact us, we recommend viewing the information and guidance on this website.
You can view the help text for scheme return questions without having to log in to Exchange. You can also select the help icon in Exchange for further guidance on a particular scheme return question.
See further information on how to use Exchange, including how to associate to a registered scheme.
If you still have any queries about the scheme return, contact us. You may prefer to send us an email.
Your legal responsibility
As the trustee or manager of a registrable scheme, you must provide us with a scheme return, unless the scheme has only one member, has wound up or another exemption applies.
If a scheme return hasn’t been completed and submitted by the deadline stated in the scheme return notice, this will be a breach of the Pensions Act 2004 and you risk being fined. Your scheme’s PPF levy calculations may also be impacted by late submissions.