Here at Barnett Waddingham, we have significant experience in providing both on-site and remote pension project management support and resources. Our services are available for both administration and pension teams, and cover outsourced bespoke projects, pension project management and secondments.

We pride ourselves on the fact that we offer a flexible, tailored approach and our consulting staff are both knowledgeable and experienced, allowing us to deliver on our clients’ needs effectively and efficiently.

We’re expertly equipped to provide clients with on-site and remote part-time or full-time secondments and can accommodate both short and long secondments at short notice. Supporting numerous types of secondments, we place skilled and experienced individuals or a team inside your company for a specified period of time.

Our pension project management support services enable us to work alongside you in developing an effective secondment plan, in accordance with your business goals and objectives.

We are knowledgeable in providing and supporting numerous types of secondments. ​We have resourced multiple temporary roles, such as:

  • Risk Manager
  • Head of Compliance and Risk
  • Pensions Manager

Some of our past client work includes:

  • data cleansing
  • system specification
  • benefit audits
  • provision of day-to-day administration support

Our organisation has grown to over 1,500 people, meaning we are extremely well resourced. Our specialist teams have a collective bank of experience and knowledge which they are able to lean on in order to best serve our clients. Our specialisms include:

We have years of experience in bringing together resources and making use of multi-disciplinary teams in order to collaboratively deliver client secondments. We pride ourselves on our ability to give each of our clients tailored support and our flexibility allows us to give specific, non-generic support to whomever we work with.

We can add value in the following ways:

Minimal risk – our experts are specialists in their field, leaving minimal room for any issues to occur. Our size and structure mean we can bring in additional resources to keep projects on track if required.

New insight – looking at your requirements from a third-party perspective gives us a chance to perform a neutral analysis and offer fresh insight. We use our years of experience to help inform our approach and better understand your goals and objectives.

Tailored, flexible approach – Tailored, flexible approach – we work with our clients to provide individuals with the right experience and knowledge who will seamlessly integrate with their culture and working environment.

We have extensive project management experience, specifically in pension project management. Our aim is to take the burden away from you. Our pension project management services come from a technical background and therefore have the knowledge to understand all of the elements of a project. The technical knowledge our pension project management services team possesses provides additional value to our clients.

We use PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) methodology to run projects efficiently and successfully. This helps us tailor the management of a project to reflect the way in which our clients like to work and the nature of the project.

Our approach:

  • provides a decision-making framework that is logical and robust to govern any type of project
  • clearly identifies the project stakeholders
  • meets the needs of all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe, whilst making the best use of resources available
  • keeps decision-makers well informed. Our reports on the project include updates on issues and risks escalated by the project manager. We make key documents available throughout the project
  • ensures required approvals and direction for the project are obtained where appropriate throughout the project.

Our wealth of experience and expertise in resourcing and pension project management brings multi-disciplinary teams together to deliver or support client projects that are tailored to their requirements or business objectives.

Below are some examples of the many areas in which we have supported clients: 

  • Dealing with data - this includes performing data gap analyses in preparation for insurance transactions and GMP equalisation as well as "business as usual", benefit audits where benefits are calculated from first principles to provide our clients with an additional level of comfort, and data cleansing in order to address any actions identified.
  • We believe that defined benefit scheme sponsors and trustees should put in place a process to support members who want to investigate whether transferring their benefit is in their best interests. We can help companies and trustees facilitate defined benefit pension transfers.
  • Calculating annual allowances can be complex and time-consuming. We provide these figures annually to some of our clients. 
  • Changing system? We have helped clients to prepare the initial system specification, run a tender process, implement the new system and carry out testing.  
  • Scoping the role of the actuarial support required to deliver the administration services to the scheme. 
  • Audit of processes and procedures to ensure they are up to date and working well. We liaise with members of our clients' teams to get a good understanding of practices and, using our experience and expertise, make recommendations where efficiencies can be gained. We also help to implement any agreed changes. 
  • We draft and arrange delivery of benefit statements. We do not need to be the pension administrator in order to take on and run such projects. We are able to calculate the statement figures, draft the template, print the statements and arrange delivery. 

 

Our recent projects have included: 

  • data analysis in preparation for a transaction with an insurer, helping to reduce the cost of buyout 
  • providing resources to support an in-house administrator in order to assist with a peak in calculation activity
  • streamlining a new trustee client’s scheme governance documentation in order to make it easier to use and to help achieve their stated objectives
  • providing an experienced interim pension manager at short notice when an in-house pension manager became unexpectedly absent during a busy period
"The comprehensive, supportive and proactive approach that Barnett Waddingham applied to the management of this extensive project has been commendable. From the careful preparation of the communications for our members, the implementation of a new pension solution, managing administrative complexities with ease and ensuring the numerous parties involved kept on track, BW has provided an outstanding solution."
Robert Gravill Director, The Trustee Corporation Limited

Need more help? 

By the nature of these services the projects we undertake are specific to each client. They can involve one service or span across numerous different services. We would be delighted to discuss any upcoming projects or challenges you might be facing. Please contact Claire Barnes or Debbie Matravers for more information.

Example Projects

For more information on some recent projects, view these short case studies, covering everything from multiple levels of onsite and remote support, to covering maternity leave and more.

Find out more