diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager.go
index 84f239157d0..f3503d6ba8c 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager.go
@@ -132,8 +132,7 @@ func NewManager(cpuPolicyName string, reconcilePeriod time.Duration, machineInfo
 		policy = NewStaticPolicy(topo, numReservedCPUs)
 
 	default:
-		klog.Errorf("[cpumanager] Unknown policy \"%s\", falling back to default policy \"%s\"", cpuPolicyName, PolicyNone)
-		policy = NewNonePolicy()
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown policy: \"%s\"", cpuPolicyName)
 	}
 
 	stateImpl, err := state.NewCheckpointState(stateFileDirectory, cpuManagerStateFileName, policy.Name())
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager_test.go
index 5d08b84cbf7..1bb68dcb772 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cpumanager/cpu_manager_test.go
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ func TestCPUManagerGenerate(t *testing.T) {
 			description:                "invalid policy name",
 			cpuPolicyName:              "invalid",
 			nodeAllocatableReservation: nil,
-			expectedPolicy:             "none",
+			expectedError:              fmt.Errorf("unknown policy: \"invalid\""),
 		},
 		{
 			description:                "static policy",
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager.go
index 03e9d80db01..6af26b6cedd 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package topologymanager
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
+
 	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/klog"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/socketmask"
@@ -71,7 +73,7 @@ type TopologyHint struct {
 var _ Manager = &manager{}
 
 //NewManager creates a new TopologyManager based on provided policy
-func NewManager(topologyPolicyName string) Manager {
+func NewManager(topologyPolicyName string) (Manager, error) {
 	klog.Infof("[topologymanager] Creating topology manager with %s policy", topologyPolicyName)
 	var policy Policy
 
@@ -87,8 +89,7 @@ func NewManager(topologyPolicyName string) Manager {
 		policy = NewStrictPolicy()
 
 	default:
-		klog.Errorf("[topologymanager] Unknown policy %s, using default policy %s", topologyPolicyName, PolicyNone)
-		policy = NewNonePolicy()
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown policy: \"%s\"", topologyPolicyName)
 	}
 
 	var hp []HintProvider
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ func NewManager(topologyPolicyName string) Manager {
 		policy:           policy,
 	}
 
-	return manager
+	return manager, nil
 }
 
 func (m *manager) GetAffinity(podUID string, containerName string) TopologyHint {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager_test.go
index c14a1a17cb1..48c38f6209e 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/topologymanager/topology_manager_test.go
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ limitations under the License.
 package topologymanager
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"reflect"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -39,28 +41,40 @@ func NewTestSocketMaskFull() socketmask.SocketMask {
 
 func TestNewManager(t *testing.T) {
 	tcases := []struct {
-		name       string
-		policyType string
+		description    string
+		policyName     string
+		expectedPolicy string
+		expectedError  error
 	}{
 		{
-			name:       "Policy is set preferred",
-			policyType: "preferred",
+			description:    "Policy is set preferred",
+			policyName:     "preferred",
+			expectedPolicy: "preferred",
 		},
 		{
-			name:       "Policy is set to strict",
-			policyType: "strict",
+			description:    "Policy is set to strict",
+			policyName:     "strict",
+			expectedPolicy: "strict",
 		},
 		{
-			name:       "Policy is set to unknown",
-			policyType: "unknown",
+			description:   "Policy is set to unknown",
+			policyName:    "unknown",
+			expectedError: fmt.Errorf("unknown policy: \"unknown\""),
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range tcases {
-		mngr := NewManager(tc.policyType)
+		mngr, err := NewManager(tc.policyName)
 
-		if _, ok := mngr.(Manager); !ok {
-			t.Errorf("result is not Manager type")
+		if tc.expectedError != nil {
+			if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tc.expectedError.Error()) {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected error message. Have: %s wants %s", err.Error(), tc.expectedError.Error())
+			}
+		} else {
+			rawMgr := mngr.(*manager)
+			if rawMgr.policy.Name() != tc.expectedPolicy {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected policy name. Have: %q wants %q", rawMgr.policy.Name(), tc.expectedPolicy)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }