TPT’s expansion into alternative structures for pension funds highlights how larger allocations to illiquid assets can be utilised during the retirement phase
TPT Retirement Solutions’ push into superfunds and collective defined contribution (CDC) is not just about expanding its product set. It reflects a broader shift in how UK pension capital could be deployed – and, crucially, how long it stays invested in private markets.
For chief executive David Lane, the immediate focus is execution. After months of preparation, TPT is nearing submission of its superfund application to The Pensions Regulator, with approval potentially by the end of the year. “If that all goes to plan, we’ll be an assessed superfund… and then in a position to transact,” he says.
But behind that timeline sits a more significant development: the emergence of alternatives to insurance buyout that fundamentally change how pension assets are managed during their endgame.
Increasingly over the last two decades, defined benefit (DB) schemes have largely followed a single path: de-risk, hedge liabilities and transfer to an insurer.
That model has clear implications for asset allocation. Once schemes move to buyout, growth assets — including private markets — are typically sold down in favour of liability-matching portfolios.
Superfunds offer a different route. “A super fund is a structure that enables the sponsor… to step away from its future obligations,” Lane says.
But unlike insurers, superfunds are not bound to the same capital and matching requirements. Instead, they can run portfolios for the long term, retaining exposure to growth assets.
TPT’s model goes further still. Rather than acting as a bridge to buyout, it is designed as a permanent run-on vehicle. “Our ambition… is to use the surplus that’s generated to enhance the benefits for members over time,” Lane says.
That surplus generation depends on maintaining investment return – and by extension, continued allocation to private markets, real assets and other illiquids. If superfunds gain traction, a greater share of DB assets may remain invested in private markets for longer, rather than being crystallised into insurance portfolios.
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TPT’s investment model is built around that premise. “We’ve now got all of the DB investment funds in place… and we’ll use those same funds as the underpin for the super fund and CDC,” Lane says.
Assets will be pooled into collective funds spanning equities, private credit, real assets and alternatives – a structure designed to support long-term, diversified return generation.
This reflects a multi-year effort by TPT to build internal capability across private markets, including property, credit and infrastructure-style exposures. A new property fund will complete the platform. “We’re adding a property fund… then we’ve got the full breadth of fund structures,” Lane says.
In effect, TPT is positioning itself not just as a consolidator, but as an investment platform capable of deploying capital across illiquid markets at scale.
If superfunds offer a route for sustaining private markets exposure in DB, CDC provides a pathway that may soon compete with conventional defined contribution (DC) arrangements.
TPT’s multi-employer CDC scheme, expected to launch after legislative approval, is designed to deliver retirement income through pooled investment and longevity risk. “We’ve got employers ready to join as soon as the scheme is authorised,” Lane says.
From an investment perspective, the key difference from traditional DC is structural. “It’s going to be more heavily growth orientated… look more like a DB scheme,” he says.
Unlike DC default funds, which typically de-risk as members approach retirement, CDC operates as a collective pool. That reduces the need for daily liquidity and allows for a higher, more persistent allocation to growth assets. “Inherently, pooling more investment risk… should get you a better outcome,” Lane adds.
A shift from individual DC accounts to pooled structures could unlock greater capacity for illiquid investment, particularly in private credit, infrastructure and other real assets.
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These developments come at a pivotal moment for the DB market. “There are roughly 4,000 legacy DB schemes… they’re not all going to go to buyout,” Lane says.
Improved funding levels have made insurer buyouts more accessible. However, not all schemes will choose that route – particularly smaller schemes that may benefit from consolidation and scale.
Superfunds, capital-backed journey plans and run-on strategies are gaining regulatory support, creating what Lane describes as “more of a tailwind than a headwind”.
At the same time, the DC system is evolving, with CDC emerging as a potential complement – or partial alternative – to traditional accumulation models.
For now, TPT’s ambitions are constrained by available capital. The firm expects to support between £1bn and £1.5bn of assets initially in its superfund.
But the broader trajectory is less about scale today and more about direction. Taken together, superfunds and CDC point to a pensions system where more capital remains invested for longer – and where private markets play a larger role in delivering returns.
As Lane puts it: “We’ve got the investment infrastructure… it’s exciting.” The next question is whether the market follows.