The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has announced that it has selected Baker Tilly as the independent assessor for the accreditation of applicants against the PASA standards of administration.

PASA has been created to provide an independent infrastructure which will set, develop, guide and assess administration standards.

Margaret Snowdon OBE, chair of PASA, said: 'This is a significant milestone to putting in place the framework that we expect to become the benchmark for high quality pensions administration in the UK. This was one of our key activities for completion this year and follows the publication of the planned approach for accreditation, which has been subject to consultation across the industry.

'The appointment is with immediate effect and will run for three years. Our next stage of activity is to plan the pilot accreditation activity over the next four months with the goal of having our first successful accredited site by the end of 2012.'

Ian Bell, head of pensions at Baker Tilly, said: 'It is important that administration gains focus and attention as it affects all areas of the industry, so having recognised standards and accreditation in place for those willing to improve will be a strong step towards improving administration across the pensions space.'