Speaker at CFG's Annual Conference 2012

1. Pensions 2012
Melanie Cusack
Pitmans Trustees Limited

2. Financial Climate
• Assets vs liabilities
• Risk reduction
• Proposals from advisers
• Fiduciary management
• Objectives of charity/pension scheme

3. Political Climate
• Government threats re tax relief on
charitable donations
• “Defined Ambition” schemes concept
• Public sector changes

4. Governance
• Recognised as a form of risk reduction
• Familiar territory for many charities
• Often not difficult
• Conflicts of interest must be managed, but
rarely removed
• Trust Based vs Contract Based provision have
different levels of governance

5. Auto-enrolment
• Staging date should be known
• Impact on current pension provisions
• Impact on current payroll costs
• “New” products available – not just NEST
• Test cases likely

6. Actuarial Valuations
• Many due this year due to anniversary since
first valuation in new regime
• Issues likely to be those of three years ago but
more complex
• Pensions Regulator acknowledges difficulties of
current financial climate
• Informed decisions must be made.

7. Employer Covenant
• Greater emphasis by Pensions Regulator
• “Creative” approaches to date may not stand up
to scrutiny
• Charity sponsors have particular considerations
• Difficult to justify complex forensic investigations
tailored to corporate sector

8. Data
• Pensions Regulator provided good practice
guidance in June 2010
• By end 2012, Common Data should have
• 100% accuracy for members joining post June
2012
• 95% accuracy for legacy members

9. Communication
• Awareness of pension higher, although not
positive
• Auto-enrolment will increase awareness
• Need positive spin
• Usually most valuable employee benefit after
wages.
• Manage expectations

10. Costs
• Advisers’ fees receiving some coverage
• Lay trustees rely heavily on advisers
• How to achieve value for money?
• Ask the right questions of right adviser
• Charity representatives with right background
• Independent trustee

11. Conclusions
• Busy year so far – expected to continue
• Auto-enrolment is and will continue to get a
lot of attention
• Good governance is paramount to avoid
detracting from the charity’s objectives