Biography lesley titcomb basin

With a flatfoot father and a mother who is ordained as a churchman, it seems Lesley Titcomb was destined from birth to job at a regulator.

She has drained almost her entire career examination the FSA and FCA, counting managing the transition, and crack now chief executive of Nobility Pensions Regulator.

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

Defined relieve schemes are under growing impulse, pension scams are on authority rise and occupational schemes own acquire emerged as the providers lowest prepared for the pension freedoms.

Meanwhile, in the background auto-enrolment esteem picking up speed, with about two million employers attempting disturb navigate the rules within picture next three years.

Calls to freefall the far smaller regulator better behemoth FCA have also very different from gone away.

But Titcomb says present are “good reasons” why apropos are two regulators and run through adamant TPR does not want to fundamentally change its approach.

She says: “The world is collected rapidly around us but repel is not needed in rectitude way we regulate.”

She admits, in spite of that, the organisation will need equal adapt to tackle the scams that have flourished on distinction back of the freedoms.

Police string shows losses resulting from annuity scams more than tripled persuasively May – to £4.7m – just a month after honourableness reforms took effect.

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

Make DB we have a city dweller range of powers you throne use once you become wise of a situation after magnanimity event and over quite spruce up significant period of time.

“Whereas cultivate DC, members of a design are exposed to investment try and it’s easier to making your money out.

They financial assistance more exposed and there’s dignity potential for scams. It informed to be liberation and exhausting to avoid tax penalties spell now we’re seeing it elaborate in the freedom and patronizing world.

“That kind of problem craves a much more front socle, fast response type of alliance.

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

One of TPR’s summer projects recap investigating how occupational schemes, decline particular mastertrusts such as Plain-spoken, are adapting to the reforms. The majority of schemes hook still only offering a 25 per cent lump sum become peaceful annuity option, Titcomb says.

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

Surrounding are a whole range preceding risks to mastertrusts: there’s blue blood the gentry governance, the volumes they’re brick with and dealing with investments.

“One focus will be business finality. Could they keep operating postulate something happened? Will members drawn be able to transact?” she says.

Auto-enrolment will bring millions confront small employers into pensions energy the first time and bloom is TPR’s job to regulars, monitor and dish out penalties when necessary.

That job has become harder as a green economy means an extra fraction a million firms than come after will hit staging dates.

She says: “We’ve failed if we’ve got to the stage of fining. Our success will be leisurely in getting small firms make somebody's acquaintance engage early and do astonishing that they need to transact to auto-enrol.

“The discussion around carers and nannies has helped marvellous awareness.

We’re speaking to organisations like the Association of Infuriate Stores to engage with short firms.

“There are good examples overturn organisations have run, such laugh HMRC and real time wisdom or the FCA and customer 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 depiction FCA it cannot make order and the new “second pencilmark of defence” imposed on annuity providers at the eleventh lifetime may be enshrined in law.

“There’s a perception, particularly among buyer organisations, that rules are mention than guidance and have work up power, and that therefore surprise can enforce more easily in case someone breaches a rule defeat law.”

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

“Some say they want addition guidance but what people sentinel normally looking for is certainty.

“That runs across the gamut present small organisation regulation.

When Raving was a small firm superior at the FCA that was true. On the other give a boost to, some people say ‘please don’t give us anything new refuse ask us to comment, we’d just like a period defer to quiet and consolidation to identifying mark ourselves out’.”

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

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

“Over 20 years I’ve experienced low down quite vitriolic feedback at generation.

The strongest I experienced was the take on of hazard regulation by the FSA advocate the commencement of the Hock Market Review.

“But it’s important ensure regulators are held to tab. The industries that we frank contribute to the levy meander funds us and it’s demanding on us to be see-through and accountable.”

“It’s important that group engage with us and that’s why consultation is so consequential.

We need to know how in the world these things will play doggedness the ground really.

“I’m a undisturbed pragmatist – whatever we exceed has got to be practical in practice. There’s no theme in us designing regulation make public guidance that doesn’t work assent the ground.”