"I felt it was important to have the voice of an 'ordinary employee' around the trustee table to interrogate what, how and why things were being done in running the Fund, for ordinary employed and deferred members, who did not feel able to speak up."

When conversations arose about pensions, I was struck by how disengaged lots of colleagues felt towards the Defined Benefits scheme they were contributing to. There was an underlying feeling that somehow the pension was a burden on the employer, affecting the day-to-day running of the business, which might be affecting pay and profitability. Fewer people, than I would have expected, saw it as deferred pay.

Many of my colleagues, and especially the junior ones, were not confident they had either the voice or knowledge to contribute meaningfully to the running of the pension fund. I think many of my colleagues viewed it as a solely employer responsibility.

"Like most new things it felt like being outside a closed circle of the existing trustees and advisers, all speaking a language full of acronyms I was struggling to grasp."

On reflection, this was down to an existing board having been in place for some time and all having fallen into using the pensions world language which meant nothing to me, until I completed The Pension Regulator Introduction to Trustee course.

There was a period when I seemed to spend most of my time asking, asking, and asking again until I had a good understanding of what was happening. A benchmark for me was asking myself “Could I explain this to an average member if asked?”. The worst thing I think a new trustee could do is not ask.

I had no idea that AMNT existed and met another trustee over lunch at a Towers conference. When I was bemoaning the lack of training available outside the online Pension Regulator pack, he pointed me in the direction of the AMNT…

"For me the AMNT is providing a forum of other voices outside the circle of regular advisers. There is both debate, and training. I have been very impressed by the quality of events and the breadth of topics that are discussed."

"Compared to when I started, I am more confident in the role and feel happier both challenging and actively participating in the business of the trustee board…"

I feel the importance of having MNTs has increased over the last 3 years when I have been a trustee. During that time the media has made the public much more aware of the interaction of pension schemes with the financial viability outcomes of some large companies which have been in trouble. Companies like British Steel/Tata, BHS and latterly Carillon come to mind.

Thousands of people are going to be affected long into the future, depending on the level of day-to-day oversight that is given by pension trustees. I believe the AMNT has a crucial role in helping lay members ensure this is done well.