mallowstreet, together with the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, the Pensions Management Institute and the Association for Member Nominated Trustees, is launching an annual survey to take the pulse of the nation’s pension trustees. 

The trustee landscape is changing; from freedom and choice to climate change and technology, there is a growing range of things trustees need to keep on top of. This complexity is reflected in a proliferation of regulatory requirements and increased demand for professional trustees.  

Given these demands on trustees, how can they make sure they are up to date on developments in regulation, investments and member engagement? Are their training needs being fulfilled, and do they have the resources they need to act in members’ interests? How satisfied are they with their role – and how is their effectiveness being assessed? 

The mallowstreet Trustee Survey seeks to answer these and more questions by offering a forum where trustees can share their experience and views anonymously. 

Survey will identify key themes and where support is needed 

David Weeks, co-chair of the AMNT, said the survey will provide a view on the type of support that pension trustees would find most useful. 

“The Association of Member Nominated Trustees exists to provide support and advice for our members in their tjhrustee work,” he said. “This survey will help to give us a clearer picture of what sort of support will be of greatest value. We encourage all trustees to take part, and we look forward with interest to see the results. 

The survey will help to raise trustee standards, said chief executive of the PMI, Gareth Tancred. 

“We are very excited by mallowstreet’s new Trustee Survey and Report and are extremely proud to be associated with it. PMI is committed to raising standards within the pensions industry, and this survey identifies key themes necessary for achieving this,” said Tancred. “We have no doubt that this is a major step forward for our industry.” 

Given the sheer size of the sector and the responsibility it carries, it is vital to understand what issues trustees are grappling with, agreed the PLSA’s director of membership engagement, Laura Webb.  

 
“The PLSA is delighted to be working closely with mallowstreet on its Trustee Survey and Report. The trustee community is responsible for the financial futures of over 76% of the working population in the UK, so it’s imperative that we get a better understanding of the challenges the sector faces,” said Webb. 

“Given the interest of PLSA members this is a vital piece of work which can really put trustees’ needs at the forefront of the agenda when the results are published and shared within the industry.” 

Results to be shared with TPR and government 

The results of the report will be shared with those who have taken part in the research, as well as the wider trustee community. The findings will also be taken to The Pensions Regulator and government to campaign for trustees’ needs. 

Stuart Breyer, CEO of mallowstreet, said the focus will be on identifying roadblocks in the institutional pension industry. 

“The Trustee Survey is all about the needs of pension fund trustees and how we as a community at mallowstreet, the AMNT, PLSA and the PMI can empower our members,” said Breyer. “It is essential trustees are listened to by the broader industry as they work to safeguard the future income for their members.” 

To take the survey now, click here

About mallowstreet

Established in 2009, mallowstreet is the community for the pensions industry. We are working to solve the pensions and savings crisis by creating a centre of excellence for education and collaboration.

We built mallowstreet to help remove unnecessary barriers among disparate groups within the pensions industry and to encourage connectivity and collaboration.

The community has over 3,000 members who control over £2 trillion of pension fund assets.

Visit mallowstreet.com for more information

For comment, please contact:

Stuart Breyer - CEO | mallowstreet | Office:   + 44 (0)20 3972 2560 | Email:   stuart.breyer@mallowstreet.com

About the AMNT

The Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) aspires to be a positive force and a prominent voice in the UK pensions industry today. We believe that given the inherently complex nature of UK pensions and the increasing burden being placed on trustees, that far more support should be made available to member nominees.

We are a not-for-profit organisation supporting member-nominated trustees, member-nominated directors and employee representatives of UK based pension schemes in the private and public sector (funded and unfunded).

We launched with the support of Pitmans Trustees Limited, as a result of feedback and comments from member nominees who expressed a desire to be able to liaise with other member nominees, share experiences and build a community designed specifically to cater for their unique perspective within the pensions industry.

Following our initial market research an inaugural meeting was held on Friday September 3, 2010, attended by individuals representing a range of schemes including Marks & Spencer, Telent, ICI, Atkins, Aegon, Coats, United Technologies Corporation, Kasbank, Clariant, Heygate and LBBD. Since then the association has won universal support, including in the pension’s media and among the pensions’ trade bodies: momentum continues to build.

About the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association

We’re the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association; we bring together the pensions industry and other parties to raise standards, share best practice, and support our members. We represent over 1,300 pension schemes with 20 million members and £1 trillion in assets, across master trusts, defined benefit, and defined contribution schemes, and local government funds. Our members also include some 400 businesses which provide essential services and advice to UK pensions providers.

Our mission is to help everyone to achieve a better income in retirement. We work to get more people and money into retirement savings, to get more value out of those savings, and to build the confidence and understanding of savers.

About the Pensions Management Institute Founded in 1976, the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) is the UK’s largest and most recognisable professional body for employee benefit and retirement savings professionals, supporting over 6,500 members in 32 countries. It is the principal body providing education for professionals working in the workplace pensions sector.