Financial Survey of Pension Schemes

Aim of this survey

The Financial Survey of Pension Schemes (FSPS) is a quarterly survey that gathers information about income and expenditure, transactions, assets and liabilities of UK-funded occupational pension schemes. The information you supply forms part of the UK National Accounts and balance of payments, FSPS estimates are widely used within and outside of the government. These are published through the statistical bulletin series and dataset titled “Funded occupational pension schemes in the UK”.

What you need to know

To complete the FSPS, you will need to gather information regarding your:

• pension scheme benefits for employees
• pension scheme contributions for employers and employees
• income from investments
• expenditure relating to your members and their dependents, as well as expenses
• transfers in and out of your pension scheme
• information on balances (assets and liabilities) and transactions

All information you provide is strictly confidential.

Survey information

Selection criteria: UK-based occupational pension schemes on The Pensions Regulator’s register
Population: approximately 8,000
Sample: approximately 900
Frequency: quarterly

Dispatch dates

Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar): 25 March
Quarter 2 (Apr to June): 24 June
Quarter 3 (July to Sept): 23 September
Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec): 19 December

Return-by dates

Quarter 1: 20 May
Quarter 2: 19 August
Quarter 3: 18 November
Quarter 4: 17 February

Dispatch and return-by dates are a guide. They are subject to change because of national holidays and weekends.

Why you were selected

To gather a comprehensive dataset of UK funded occupational pension schemes within the sample size constraints, we require a sample which best represents pension schemes of all sizes and scheme type according to their universe size. The information you provide is vital to produce a National Statistics badged leading public UK pensions data source, widely used within and outside of government.

Every six quarters, a new sample of UK funded occupational pension schemes are selected using an adjusted version of The Pensions Regulator’s extract of UK pension schemes.

In order to have confidence that FSPS survey results are representative of the UK funded occupational pension landscape, all public sector defined benefit and hybrid (DBH) pension schemes, private sector DBH pension schemes with 10,000+ members and private sector defined contribution (DC) pension schemes with 25,000+ members are continuously selected.

Of the remaining sampling units, a sample is selected at random of private sector DBH and DC pension schemes based on membership size, using Neyman allocation to optimise the process. For more information, please see the Funded occupational pension schemes in the UK Quality and Methodology Information release.

The FSPS is conducted under the provisions of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. Once selected, your scheme is legally obliged to comply. You cannot appeal your selection.

How to complete this survey

If your scheme is selected, you will receive enrolment instructions on how to access the survey. You will be asked to complete the survey using a spreadsheet-based questionnaire.

You must use the template that appears in the Survey Data Collection (SDC) system for your FSPS return.

You can view a copy of the spreadsheet-based questionnaire (which includes definitions and extra information) in the ‘Related Downloads’ section of this webpage. Please be aware that this version of the spreadsheet is a specimen only and should not be used to return data.

Additional guidance to help complete the FSPS can also be found in the You might also be interested in section.

You will have eight weeks to complete the FSPS. Reminders are issued automatically, so you may receive one if you submit data just before or after the return date.

Complete this survey online

If you need help

If your question is not answered above, you may be able to find the answer on the About ONS business surveys page.

You can call us on 0300 1234 931. Please enter the three-digit survey ID 093.

From outside the UK: +44 1633 810495.

Er mwyn gwneud cais am ffurflen Gymraeg (to speak to someone in Welsh): 0300 1234 921.