Driving efficiency in defined contribution pension schemes
Bring member data, contribution processing, investment administration, financial workflows, document creation, and reporting together in one connected platform. Mantle helps DC administration teams automate routine work, strengthen data integrity, and deliver a faster, more consistent service to members.
Keep reading to discover:
→ What are defined contribution pension schemes?
→ The role of DC pension administrators
→ Challenges DC pension administrators face
→ Benefits of Mantle’s DC pension administration software for schemes
→ Benefits of Mantle’s DC pension administration software for members
→ Key features of Mantle’s DC pension administration software
What are defined contribution pension schemes?
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, also known as money purchase pension schemes, build up a pension pot from the contributions paid in. They can be arranged by an employer as a workplace pension or set up privately by an individual. The money is usually invested, so the value of the pension pot can rise or fall depending on contributions, investment performance, and charges.
The role of DC pension administrators
DC pension administrators manage the processes that keep these schemes running effectively. This includes maintaining member records, processing and reconciling contributions, administering investment transactions, producing communications, handling member requests, and providing information for trustees, employers, and regulatory reporting.
Challenges DC pension administrators face
The UK defined contribution landscape is becoming increasingly concentrated. According to The Pensions Regulator (TPR), the number of non-micro DC and hybrid schemes fell by 15% between 2024 and 2025, while total memberships increased by 7% to 32.8 million. Scheme assets also rose by 22% to £249 billion.
This means that a smaller number of schemes are administering growing volumes of member data, contributions, investments, and transactions. With deferred members accounting for 65% of all memberships, administrators must also maintain accurate records and provide an effective service to many people who are no longer actively contributing. When processes rely on manual checks or disconnected systems, these demands can increase workloads, slow case handling, and make effective oversight more difficult.
Managing growing membership volumes
Total DC and hybrid scheme memberships increased to 32.8 million in 2025, even as the number of non-micro schemes continued to fall.
This means many administration teams are responsible for larger volumes of member records, contributions, transactions, and requests. Without scalable systems and automated processes, growing workloads can place additional pressure on resources and service levels.
Maintaining accurate deferred member records
Deferred members accounted for 65% of total DC memberships in 2025. Schemes must therefore maintain accurate and accessible records for large numbers of people who are no longer actively contributing and may have limited contact with their former employer or pension provider.
Outdated contact details, incomplete records, and fragmented data can make it harder to communicate with these members and process future requests efficiently.
Processing and reconciling contributions
Administrators must compare payroll information, contribution schedules, and payments to confirm that the correct amounts have been received and allocated.
When these checks rely heavily on manual intervention, identifying missing, late, or inconsistent contributions can take longer and increase the risk of errors passing into member records.
Connecting fragmented systems and data
Member, employer, payroll, investment, document, and financial information may be held across several systems.
Administrators can spend significant time transferring, checking, and reconciling data between them, making it harder to establish a complete view of a member or transaction.
Reducing duplicated administrative work
Disconnected processes can require administrators to enter, validate, or update the same information several times.
This creates unnecessary work and increases the risk of inconsistent data appearing across payroll, investment, financial, and member administration records.
Handling cases efficiently
Processes such as transfers, retirements, bereavements, refunds, and investment changes may involve multiple checks, documents, approvals, and system updates.
Manual handovers can slow progress and make it difficult for administrators to see where a case sits, who is responsible, or what needs to happen next.
Maintaining oversight as assets grow
DC scheme assets increased by 22% to £249 billion in 2025.
As schemes manage greater volumes of assets and transactions, administrators, trustees, and employers need clear reporting on service levels, contribution exceptions, outstanding cases, data quality, and operational risk. Limited or delayed reporting can make effective oversight more difficult.
Delivering a consistent member experience
Members increasingly expect timely information, clear communications, and convenient digital access to their pension.
This can be challenging for schemes serving large and diverse populations, particularly where information is spread across several systems or routine requests require administrator involvement.
Get ahead of these challenges with Mantle’s defined contribution administration software designed to reduce manual work, strengthen data integrity, and support a more efficient service for members.
Benefits of Mantle’s DC pension administration software
Mantle combines comprehensive DC functionality with automation, integrated financial processes, member self-service, and stronger data controls, helping administrators work more efficiently while maintaining clear oversight.
Benefits for schemes and administrators
Reduce manual administration
Mantle automates repeatable processes across the administration journey, reducing manual intervention and helping teams follow workflows more consistently. This way, administrators can spend more time on exceptions, complex cases, and member requests that require professional judgement.
Improve data integrity and trace historical changes
Automated validation helps administrators identify missing, inconsistent, or unexpected information before it affects contributions, investments, calculations, or communications. Mantle also allows teams to return to an earlier point in time to see how data appeared before changes were made, which supports investigations and provides greater visibility over the development of member records.
Connect payroll, treasury, and accounts
Mantle integrates payroll, treasury, and accounting processes that help contribution and financial information move more efficiently through the administration journey. This can reduce duplicate entry, support reconciliation, and provide a clearer view of payments and member records.
Streamline investment processing and investigations
Mantle supports automated lifestyling and straight-through fund processing through Equisoft Trade, with support for ViaNova Market Practice. Administrators can also replay historical processing to assess what could have happened if trades had been completed differently, providing greater insight when investigating complex cases.
Create documents more efficiently
Integrated document creation allows administrators to produce communications and records using data already held within the platform. This reduces manual preparation and helps schemes maintain greater accuracy and consistency across member correspondence.
Strengthen reporting and Pensions Dashboards readiness
Bringing administration data and processes together gives administrators, trustees, and employers clearer visibility over workloads, transactions, data quality, and service performance. Mantle also automatically calculates estimated retirement income, reducing routine administrator involvement in meeting Pensions Dashboards requirements.
Benefits for members
Access and manage pension information digitally
Mantle’s self-service tools give members convenient access to their pension information and documents without requiring them to contact the administration team for every routine request. This provides greater visibility and makes it easier for members to engage with their retirement savings.
Receive a faster and more consistent service
Automation, connected data, and integrated document creation can help administrators process requests and produce communications more efficiently. Members benefit from fewer delays, more consistent information, and a smoother experience across different enquiries and transactions.
Key features of Mantle’s DC pension administration software
Process automation
Reduce repetitive work and route exceptions to the right people.
Contributions and financial integration
Connect payroll, treasury, accounts, payments, and contribution records.
Pensions Dashboards ready
Calculate and refresh ERIs from live member data with less manual intervention.
Documents and Communications
Generate and manage member documents within the administration workflow.
Investment administration
Support lifestyling, member choices, and straight-through fund processing.
Member self-service
Let members access information, documents, and investment information through the app.
20,000
Valuations runs monthly
>15,000
Engaged user hours on platform monthly
1.7m
In excess of 1.7m member records hosted
£1bn
Member payments administered annually
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DC pension administration software FAQs
1. What is defined contribution pension administration software?
Defined contribution pension administration software helps providers, administrators, and schemes manage the day-to-day operation of DC pension arrangements. It brings together member records, contribution processing, investment administration, financial workflows, communications, reporting, and member servicing within a single platform. By automating routine tasks and connecting key processes, it can help improve efficiency, strengthen data integrity, and enhance the member experience.
2. Who is Mantle’s DC pension administration software designed for?
Mantle is designed for pension administrators, providers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and in-house administration teams responsible for running defined contribution pension schemes. The platform supports the administration of member records, contributions, investments, communications, financial processes, and reporting within one connected environment.
3. Can Mantle support large-scale DC pension schemes?
Yes. Mantle is designed to support schemes managing large and growing membership volumes. Automation, integrated workflows, and connected administration processes help teams manage contributions, investments, member requests, and communications more efficiently while maintaining oversight of workloads, transactions, and data quality.
4. How does Mantle support investment administration for DC pension schemes?
Mantle supports key DC investment administration processes, including member investment choices, automated lifestyling, fund switching, and straight-through fund processing through Equisoft Trade.
By automating the exchange of investment instructions between administrators, asset managers, and custodians, Equisoft Trade helps reduce manual processing, lower operational risk, and improve transaction speed. This can help schemes process contributions, fund switches, and redemptions more efficiently while maintaining comprehensive audit trails and greater visibility across the investment lifecycle.
The platform supports standards-based connectivity across the investment ecosystem, helping schemes scale operations as transaction volumes grow without increasing administrative burden. Mantle also supports ViaNova Market Practice and enables administrators to review historical processing activity when investigating complex investment-related cases.
5. How does Mantle help improve data integrity?
Mantle uses automated validation and connected workflows to help identify missing, inconsistent, or unexpected information before it affects member records, contributions, investments, calculations, or communications. The platform also provides a historical view of data, allowing administrators to see how records appeared at previous points in time and support investigations more effectively.
6. Can Mantle integrate with payroll, treasury, and accounting systems?
Yes. Mantle connects payroll, treasury, and accounting processes within the administration journey, helping contribution and financial data flow more efficiently between teams and systems. This can reduce duplicate data entry, support reconciliation activities, and provide greater visibility over payments, transactions, and member records.
7. How does Mantle support member self-service?
Mantle provides members with secure digital access to pension information through self-service tools and a mobile app. Members can view information, access communications, and make investment selections without needing to contact the administration team for routine requests.
This helps improve member engagement and delivers a more convenient experience, while reducing administrative workloads and allowing administrators to focus on higher-value activities and more complex cases.
8. How can I see Mantle’s DC pension administration software in action?
The best way to see Mantle in action is to book a discovery call / demo with our team. We’ll take time to understand your administration challenges and demonstrate the areas of the platform most relevant to your organisation, including automation, contribution processing, investment administration, financial workflows, reporting, and member self-service capabilities.