On Friday 26 June I should have been jetting off to the US for a three week tour of California. Instead, and at roughly the same time as I would have been enjoying that pre-flight gin & tonic, I sat the PMI’s “Soft Skills” exam required to gain accredited professional trustee status.  Thankfully I passed and pleased to say I am now fully accredited by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT).

​

I’m proud to be among the growing number of professional trustees across the country who are gaining this accreditation, with the vast majority also appearing to favour the APPT route.  This can only be a good thing to have one leading recognised professional body promoting the value that professional trustees can bring to trustee boards, and setting the standards with which we need to comply.

​

Now more than ever, professional trustees should be able to demonstrate the real value we can bring to trustee boards, with what feels like an ever increasing flow of issues to deal with.

In recent months we’ve had the following publications from the Pensions Regulator alone:

​

• further (welcome) guidance from on dealing with various issues in light of the Covid 19 outbreak. Building on guidance previously issued in March, the Regulator is still allowing breathing space in a number of areas, including contribution deferral requests and valuation deadlines, but are reintroducing the requirement to report any breaches of statutory deadlines.

​

• their latest Annual Funding Statement setting out expectations of schemes going through a valuation process during 2020, with a particular focus on increased understanding and scrutiny of the employer covenant.

​

• an interim framework for the new “Superfund” regime, paving the way for the scheme consolidation market to finally get started.  This is unlikely to affect too many schemes in the short term but it will open up a potential new route for many employers and trustees to secure member benefits over the medium to long term.

​

In addition there are new reporting requirements for each scheme’s Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) from 1 October 2020, including the introduction of an “implementation statement” outlining how the SIP has been followed in practice and how Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) factors are incorporated into the trustees’ decision making process (ESG being an area that is only likely to require further attention from all trustee boards in future). 

​

Add to that the Pension Schemes Bill and new Insolvency Bill which are both working their way through Parliament, consultations on future funding requirements and RPI reform, as well as the old favourite of GMP equalisation and there is no shortage of issues to keep trustee boards busy over the months ahead.  Not forgetting of course the basic requirements of a trustee board, to invest the scheme’s assets appropriately and ultimately make sure members get paid their benefits on time!

​

Staying on top of all these developments is a challenge for any trustee board. This is particularly true for small and medium sized schemes with lower governance budgets (ie fewer people on the trustee board, most of who have a day job to focus on).  Appointing a professional trustee can take on much of this burden on behalf of the board and help navigate a sensible way through it all

​