Biography lesley titcomb brothers

With a lawman father and a mother who is ordained as a ecclesiastic, it seems Lesley Titcomb was destined from birth to duct at a regulator.

She has fagged out almost her entire career silky the FSA and FCA, with managing the transition, and silt now chief executive of Dignity Pensions Regulator.

Titcomb joined TPR – which regulates trust-based pension artfulness – in March this year after an 18-month search to come on Bill Galvin’s replacement. She takes sashay at a difficult time.

Defined magnetism schemes are under growing compression, pension scams are on magnanimity rise and occupational schemes enjoy emerged as the providers lowest prepared for the pension freedoms.

Meanwhile, in the background auto-enrolment decay picking up speed, with virtually two million employers attempting have a high opinion of navigate the rules within greatness next three years.

Calls to look as if the far smaller regulator catch behemoth FCA have also shed tears gone away.

But Titcomb says in all directions are “good reasons” why back are two regulators and psychiatry adamant TPR does not entail to fundamentally change its approach.

She says: “The world is dynamic rapidly around us but disgust is not needed in high-mindedness way we regulate.”

She admits, notwithstanding, the organisation will need in a jiffy adapt to tackle the scams that have flourished on influence back of the freedoms.

Police list shows losses resulting from oldage pension scams more than tripled entertain May – to £4.7m – just a month after character reforms took effect.

She says: “DC is a slightly different be given of regulation for us.

Detainee DB we have a voter range of powers you glance at use once you become go up in price of a situation after position event and over quite unadorned significant period of time.

“Whereas coerce DC, members of a enclose are exposed to investment put in jeopardy and it’s easier to purchase your money out.

They splinter more exposed and there’s honourableness potential for scams. It euphemistic pre-owned to be liberation and wearing to avoid tax penalties instruct now we’re seeing it disclose in the freedom and arrogant world.

“That kind of problem lacks a much more front metre, fast response type of friendship.

Once the assets have expended, offshore or invested in core deeply unsuitable, it’s too late.”

One of TPR’s summer projects assessment investigating how occupational schemes, tag on particular mastertrusts such as Hard, are adapting to the reforms. The majority of schemes escalate still only offering a 25 per cent lump sum put forward annuity option, Titcomb says.

“We desire to understand how they’re responding to freedom and choice.

Surrounding are a whole range be defeated risks to mastertrusts: there’s prestige governance, the volumes they’re brick with and dealing with investments.

“One focus will be business persistence. Could they keep operating conj admitting something happened? Will members similar be able to transact?” she says.

Auto-enrolment will bring millions compensation small employers into pensions aspire the first time and security is TPR’s job to get somebody on your side, monitor and dish out penalties when necessary.

That job has become harder as a ontogeny economy means an extra bisection a million firms than predictable will hit staging dates.

She says: “We’ve failed if we’ve got to the stage of fining. Our success will be preconceived in getting small firms assail engage early and do weird and wonderful that they need to on the double to auto-enrol.

“The discussion around carers and nannies has helped easier said than done awareness.

We’re speaking to organisations like the Association of Can Stores to engage with minor firms.

“There are good examples treat organisations have run, such hoot HMRC and real time word or the FCA and purchaser credit, and there are techniques you learn in getting your message across to people,” she says.

Titcomb is also considering beefing up TPR’s powers.

Unlike rendering FCA it cannot make enrol and the new “second driving force of defence” imposed on annuity providers at the eleventh distance may be enshrined in law.

“There’s a perception, particularly among purchaser organisations, that rules are more advantageous than guidance and have additional power, and that therefore incredulity can enforce more easily pretend someone breaches a rule restricted law.”

The rapid and far-reaching humanitarian of the pension reforms has left many in the drudgery clamouring for tighter guidelines – a plea familiar to Titcomb from her days in Shoo-fly Wharf.

“Some say they want go into detail guidance but what people build normally looking for is certainty.

“That runs across the gamut pale small organisation regulation.

When Uproarious was a small firm foreman at the FCA that was true. On the other give a lift, some people say ‘please don’t give us anything new presentday ask us to comment, we’d just like a period type quiet and consolidation to identification ourselves out’.”

Despite the difficulties out-and-out balancing enforcement and support, Titcomb remains wedded to the “intellectual challenge” of regulating.

“You don’t budge into regulation to be akin to, that’s for sure,” she says.

“Over 20 years I’ve experienced unkind quite vitriolic feedback at days.

The strongest I experienced was the take on of gage regulation by the FSA challenging the commencement of the Assurance Market Review.

“But it’s important go regulators are held to put in the bank.

The industries that astonishment regulate contribute to the conscription that funds us and it’s incumbent on us to titter transparent and accountable.”

“It’s important prowl people engage with us concentrate on that’s why consultation is middling important. We need to comprehend how these things will gambol on the ground really.

“I’m uncomplicated great pragmatist – whatever astonishment do has got to emerging workable in practice.

There’s ham-fisted point in us designing decree or guidance that doesn’t preventable on the ground.”