LawDeb Connected Event Series

View the recording of LawDeb Connected: Administration Oversight in a Digital World. 

This webinar was hosted by our Head of Trusteeship Jane Beverley with our Head of Pegasus Mark Williamson and our Senior Pensions Executives Mandy Seal and Andy Peek speaking.  The topic for this session was as follows:

Are you seeing a rise in the number of member complaints?

It is in our nature as humans that when things go wrong, we are more likely to complain or leave a poor review of the service we have received, than we are to commend or praise an individual or organisation when we receive a good service.  This is because, when things go right, we tend to just accept that this is the expected outcome, and inevitably we move on with our lives.

We are living in an age where technology and the internet allows us to obtain almost instantaneous responses to our questions.  Social Media provides us with a fast and direct way of expressing our opinions (both good and bad).  As a result, a member’s expectations can be unreasonably high and complaints about Pension Administrators can easily escalate beyond Scheme channels and the use of the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure.

Please join our forthcoming discussion where we will be looking at how complaints may arise and why complaints appear to be more prevalent and public than ever before.  We will also discuss how Pegasus can help you deal with complaints efficiently and how to foster better member relationships through clear and open communications.

We will also be looking at how Trustee Boards can support their Administrators to increase efficiency in their processes generally to improve their service overall.

For any questions contact nicole.weiner@lawdeb.com 

The session covers an overview of the LawDeb approach to CST and a case study from our client Mariano Rojas, SLB, explaining why CST is the right choice for the scheme. It is an insightful discussion on what you need to think about when considering if and how you move to CST and having the right support in place depending on the needs of your scheme.

The session was chaired by Managing Director Sankar Mahalingham and joined by the panel below:

• Scott Pinder, Head of Corporate Sole Trustee, LawDeb
• Mariano Rojas, Director, Trust Investments, SLB
• Lynne Rawcliffe, Professional Trustee, LawDeb
• Andy Peek, Pension Executive, LawDeb

DC challenges and opportunities: our Trustee and Pegasus Directors discussed how the DC market is evolving over the next few years both in the UK as well as in Ireland covering topics ranging from consolidation, VFM framework, decumulation and at retirement support to the S in ESG.

Watch the video below to hear from our Managing Director Vicky Paramour and the panel below for an interesting discussion about the future of DC;

Samantha Pitt, Trustee Director

Anna Eagles, Trustee Director

Paul Torsney, Trustee Director based in our Dublin office

Ian McKinlay, Director of Investment Services - Pegasus

If you would be interested in watching the recording of this event please contact us here.

We have summarised the key takeaways below.  

Run on case study – Mike Jaffe;

• Size of scheme is likely to be relevant to have enough scale and governance support to run on
• Employer covenant needs to be demonstrably strong
• Ideally the scheme will be well funded and have a carefully considered investment strategy
• Use of surplus to remove benefit inconsistencies and provide DC contributions are likely motivations for Trustees and Company
• Requires careful thought and considered advice

 Buy-in case study – Paul Wales;

• Collaboration between Trustees and Company is the key to success
• Good preparation – ensure you have everything in place including all stakeholder approvals
• Strong project management – manage competing deadlines and expect things to come out of the woodwork
• Good advisors and professional trustees who can challenge pricing and manage competitive tension with insurers
• You might start with a strategy to run-on but everything can change once reach 100% funded versus buy-in.

We have also identified areas in common whether you decide to go down the run on or buy-in/buy-out route;

• Consider scheme rules; balance of power, application of surplus, differences in benefits between sections, …
• Ownership and use of Surplus – how can this be shared fairly among the parties
• Relationship between Company and Trustees – good dialog and trust
• Resourcing – do you have the expertise and manpower to get the work done

The second webinar in our LawDeb Connected event series looked at Buy-in/Buy-Out for our clients. Hosted by Vicky Paramour, Managing Director of LawDeb Pensions and Sankar Mahalingham, Director of Pegasus, a number of the LawDeb and Pegasus team members shared their experiences of delivering buy-in/buy-out for our clients. Through these case studies Trustee Director Elizabeth Hartree, Head of Corporate Sole Trustee Scott Pinder and Senior Pensions Executive Mark Williamson delivered practical guidance. Some key takeaways are:

Work with the scheme sponsor:

Whilst the Trustees typically have the power to make decisions, quicker progress can be made if the sponsor is on board and trustee and sponsor are working collaboratively.

Plan early to move quickly:

• Going to market, what matters most is the ability to move in a particular timescale, price ability to take on assets in specie, working with a household name etc.  Set out your ultimate objectives and journey plan in advance to avoid delays which would mean you miss opportunities.
• Poor data cleanliness can cause delays, and make you less attractive to insurers. Ensure any data work required up front is completed, benefit specs prepared and that resources are in place to move quickly.   

 The right governance framework is key:

• Whilst the needs of each scheme differ, having a Corporate Sole Trustee (CST) in place can help ensure things move more quickly and decision making processes are robust.  A CST team, as at LawDeb, is experienced, knows to ask the right questions, anticipates and mitigates challenges early. CST, done right, is a team approach meaning access to a wide set of skills and experience.
• For schemes which don’t have CST, sub-committees can tackle the incremental decisions with the strategic decisions being passed to the full board. This supports agile decision making.

Get the right advisers in place:

• Ensure all advisers are aware of the ultimate goal, know their role on the project and have input into the planning up front to ensure realistic expectations are set.
• Independent project management support, such as that offered by Pegasus, or provided by a pensions manager if they have capacity, to hold advisors accountable is key to support this.
• Combined decision papers from advisors (i.e. actuaries and lawyers) can also help speed up decisions. 

As more schemes find themselves closer to buy-out, getting yours in the best position for success requires foresight and planning. At LawDeb we have extensive experience delivering buy-ins and buy-outs for schemes of all types and size. We have delivered over a 100 transactions. This includes the largest in the market of over £4bn which was announced last week. This experience spans both trusteeship and pensions executive services, so do reach out to Nicole Weiner if you have any questions about the process, or are considering what the most suitable endgame solution is for your scheme.