With ORA deadlines fast approaching, LCP highlights key steps for effective assessments

March 27, 2026

As the first wave of Own Risk Assessments (ORAs) comes due in the next few days, LCP is urging trustees to seize the opportunity to strengthen governance rather than treating the ORA as a compliance exercise.

The ORA, a new regulatory requirement assessing how effectively a governing body’s Effective System of Governance (ESOG) is operating, is now landing for many schemes. To support trustees under pressure, LCP has published five practical steps to help schemes produce an ORA that is insightful, proportionate, and value‑adding, building on the guidance set out in LCP & Pensions UK’s industry‑leading Made Simple Guide on the ORA.

LCP’s five steps for an effective ORA:

Make it evidence-based. Trustees should ground their ORA in real evidence to demonstrate how the ESOG is working in practice, not just on paper.
Focus on governance risk. Focus on governance risk. An effective ORA looks beyond the risk register and assesses whether governance processes, controls, and oversight truly mitigate day‑to‑day governance risks.
Be proportionate. Schemes should tailor the depth of their ORA to their size and complexity, concentrating on areas where scrutiny adds meaningful value.
Prioritise clarity and usability. Plain English, short paragraphs, and a clear structure ensure the ORA supports trustee engagement, informs decisions, and avoids becoming a technical manual.
Look forward. The ORA is a point‑in‑time review, but its real value lies in what happens next. Use the ORA to identify emerging risks and areas where governance needs to be strengthened or tested further.

Rachika Cooray, Partner and Head of Governance at LCP, commented: “In a landscape where reforms are accelerating across both DB and DC, trustees need more than compliance checklists. They need a governance tool that helps them steer. A well-crafted ORA does exactly that. It shines a light on how decisions are really made, exposes blind spots early and turns governance into something active and forward-looking. At a time when trustees are being asked to do more with less, that clarity isn’t a luxury – it’s essential to running a resilient and future-ready scheme.”