TPT Becomes the First Provider to Apply to Launch a UK Multi-Employer Collective Pension, With More Than 10 Employers and 20,000 Members Interested

TPT Retirement Solutions announced on 4 November 2026 that it has applied to The Pensions Regulator for authorisation to launch a multi-employer collective defined contribution (CDC) pension scheme. It is the first provider to submit such an application. If approved, the TPT Collective Pension Scheme would be the UK's first open-market collective pension, available to employers of different sizes and in different sectors. More than 10 employers, representing over 20,000 members, have already confirmed their interest. For fund managers, the story is less about one scheme than about a pooled, growth-oriented pension structure that may eventually need long-term assets.

What was announced

TPT said the scheme is designed as a whole-of-life CDC arrangement, so members would save into a collective, pooled fund during their working lives and then draw an income in retirement from the same pool. The company said that by investing collectively and keeping exposure to growth-seeking assets for longer, CDC schemes have the potential to offer a higher and more predictable retirement income than individual defined contribution accounts. In a CDC scheme, investment risk and longevity risk are shared among members rather than carried by each person alone. TPT's chief executive David Lane called the application a major milestone and said CDC is not intended to replace defined benefit or traditional defined contribution arrangements. The pensions minister, Torsten Bell, said in a statement that CDC schemes let the ups and downs of the market be shared across the group. The scheme remains subject to regulatory approval.

The numbers

The headline figures are the 10 employers and 20,000 members that have expressed interest. TPT already administers defined benefit and defined contribution master trusts for more than 490,000 members and reported £11.4 billion of assets under management as of 30 September 2025. Set against that base, the 20,000 members who have shown interest are about 4.1% of the 490,000, our arithmetic from the two disclosed figures. By count of employers we cannot compute a share, because TPT has not disclosed how many employers it serves today. TPT also said it completed the regulator's superfund assessment process in October 2026, so, subject to approval of the collective scheme, it would offer employers six distinct consolidation vehicles.

How it compares

The UK's CDC framework was introduced by the Pension Schemes Act 2021, and so far only single-employer CDC plans exist in the country, which is why an open-market scheme would be a first. The wider direction of travel for UK workplace pensions is toward more private-market investment under the Mansion House Accord. We reported that UK pension providers held £22.1 billion in private markets under the Accord, that Scottish Widows began investing workplace pension savings in UK venture growth through IP Group, and that Nest's HarbourVest private equity mandate passed £2 billion. TPT is a different kind of institution from those three, because it is a consolidator of existing schemes and is now adding a new product, but it sits in the same policy conversation.

The named LP

TPT Retirement Solutions is a UK provider of workplace pensions that has been managing multi-employer schemes for more than 80 years. It is ultimately owned by a pension fund, The Pensions Trust, and its investment arm, TPT Investment Management, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. On 26 October 2026 TPT Investment Management announced Peter Smith as its chief investment officer, a new name for managers who deal with the group. We do not have verified figures for TPT's allocation to private markets, its typical commitment size, or whether it backs first-time managers, so we offer none. What we can say is that a CDC scheme is, by design, a long-horizon pool, and TPT said that is the point of the structure.

What a GP should do

This section is our advice, not guidance from TPT. First, add TPT and its new CIO to your UK pensions map, because the group now has several vehicles and a new investment chief. Second, if you manage long-duration strategies such as infrastructure, private credit or growth equity, prepare a short note on how your fund would work for a pooled pension that wants growth assets but must also pay income, including your distribution profile and valuation process. Third, remember that nothing is approved yet. TPT's application is pending, and any asset allocation for the new scheme would come after authorisation, so this is a relationship-building year, not a fundraising window. Fourth, look for shared names: managers and consultants that already work with UK pension providers are the likeliest warm introductions for this kind of institution, and our playbook for pitching a pension that invests through managers covers the approach. Fifth, keep an eye on the guidance that trustees are being asked to read, which we cover in our note on the UK consultation on pension trustees' fiduciary duty guidance.

What to watch next

Watch for the regulator's decision on the application, for the first employers to sign up, and for how TPT describes the investment strategy of the collective fund. FundLinx members can see which UK pension providers are building private markets programs.

FundLinx Intelligence | FundLinx.ai