Ready or not - is your pension scheme up to the challenge?

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Pension trustees face a considerable challenge to make the right decisions at the right times to deliver a high performing scheme, while protecting the best interests of the key stakeholders – the members. And each day, it becomes even more challenging. Our new report, Ready or Not, assesses how ready schemes are to face this challenge.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

That's not all...

In conjunction with the report, we are launching our online benchmarking tool designed to help schemes assess their own readiness for their next step. Using data gathered from our Ready or Not survey, it gives an indication of how ready your scheme is for taking its next step and offers guidance as to how this could be improved.

CLICK HERE TO BENCHMARK YOUR SCHEME

Pension schemes have had to navigate the ‘lower for longer’ investment environment for more than a decade, while adapting to rapidly maturing schemes. This requires them to protect the fund, generate excess returns and still release capital to meet pension promises. All within an increasingly restrictive regulatory environment.

Key findings 

of schemes say they are prepared for the next stage of their stategy

believe they only have visibility of the covenant for five years or less

lack confidence in the completeness of scheme data

In order to understand how these pressures may be influencing scheme strategies, we conducted a survey which revealed some interesting – and perhaps surprising – findings.

We discovered that while trustees claim to be confident about their schemes’ next step, many show a lack of confidence in some of the building blocks of good governance.

These governance gaps are apparent in fundamental areas such as employer covenant, funding and investment strategy. In addition, worrying lapses in confidence are visible in relationships crucial to schemes’ success – with their sponsor and their trusted advisers.

This places trustees in a difficult position. How can they be confident in a strategy as a whole if they lack confidence in any one component? The report outlines many fundamental areas that schemes have identified as causes for concern and that may present as risks now or in the future.

Please contact Paul Houghton or Debra Logan if you would like to discuss any of the above topics in more detail.