Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Risk management and IRM for UK occupational pension schemes: ESOG, ORA, internal controls, contingency planning, monitoring and employer information-sharing

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

Is there a duty to manage risks?

While trustees do not have a specific duty to manage risks, risk management supports the duty to maintain an effective system of governance (ESOG), including internal controls, in two ways:

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) sees internal controls as covering the identification, recording, monitoring and evaluation of risks. Assessing risks enables trustees to decide which ones need controls to cut both how often they arise and the impact of their effects. For further details, see Practice Note: Pension requirement for an effective system of governance, including internal controls (ESOG)—Internal controls.
The ESOG duty also requires an own risk assessment (ORA), documenting how well the ESOG operates and how potential risks are managed. However, TPR treats the risk management function as separate from the trustees’ duty to carry out an ORA. For more on the ORA, see Practice Note: Pension requirement for an effective system of governance, including internal controls (ESOG)—Own risk assessment (ORA).

Nonetheless, TPR expects some level of risk management as it...

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Danny Fowler

Fieldfisher

I am a Director in Fieldfisher’s Pensions practice and advise clients large and small on the complete suite of issues that arise in relation to their pension schemes. Having previously worked in the pensions legal team of one of the UK’s largest professional services firms, I have a unique understanding of the wider pensions issues that are relevant when solving clients’ problems and have often worked closely with actuarial, covenant, investment, transformation and industrial relations specialists. I have advised some of the UK’s largest employers on pensions reform, often where clarity is needed from the High Court or Court of Appeal on the pension scheme’s rules. As well as advising trustee and corporate clients on contentious and non-contentious matters, I have worked on a number of high profile liquidations. I have also been seconded to the pensions legal team of a leading UK insurer....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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