The Pension Trustees Handbook

Overview

Regulation, regulation and more regulation. The regulatory landscape for pensions continues to become ever more complex. The most significant change in more than a decade has just started. Auto-enrolment, which is designed to cover people having no access to a workplace pension scheme, will bring millions of workers into a pension. Many for the first time.

Equally, investments are proving an intractable issue for trustees. They need to move into return-seeking assets (such as shares) to try and improve the returns for their members. At the same time, the regulator has become less tolerant of short-term asset price volatility and is encouraging them to move into fixed-interest investments. Only time will tell how this will play out.

Being a trustee therefore continues to be both an interesting and demanding job. Trustees need to have an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding (TKU). Many will attend training courses to get their TKU and other formal qualifications through professional bodies such as the Pensions Management Institute (PMI).

Against this background, Aberdeen is delighted to support this latest edition of Robin Ellison’s definitive handbook, which provides trustees with a practical guide to navigate their way around the legislative landscape. Aberdeen also runs an independent, CPD accredited, industry-wide thought leadership seminar programme to support trustees as they grapple with the challenges ahead. Please contact me if you would like to join our Pensions Intelligence programme.

Dominic Delaforce
Head of UK Pension Funds Aberdeen Asset Management dominic.delaforce@aberdeen-asset.com

The Pension Trustee’s Handbook offers you 5 key advantages:

1. Contains no legalese or jargon
2. Shows you how to anticipate problems
3. Provides practical advice on what you need to do
4. Ends each chapter with a summary of key points
5. Includes case studies, checklists and useful addresses

This is part of our series of Company Secretary training courses covering the essential skills and best practices for all company directors and company secretaries, as well as business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Reviews

Endorsed by The Pensions Management Institute

The Pension Trustee’s Handbook 7th edition has been endorsed by the Pensions Management Institute, the professional body for those working in the field of pensions and employee benefits.

For further details on trustee innovations and awards, go to the The Pensions Management Institute website.

Praise for previous editions

‘Scores very highly… mandatory education for your trustee board.’

Pensions Today

‘Immensely reassuring… clear and practical.’

Benefits and Compensation International

‘A very useful book – one for the shelves of all pension trustees.’

Personnel Today

‘Very straightforward and accessible … this is a useful and practical primer for trustees.’

Pensions News

The sponsor

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC is a global investment management group, managing assets for both institutional and retail clients from offices around the world.

Our mission is to deliver strong fund performance across diverse asset classes in which we believe we have a sustainable competitive edge.

For further details about Aberdeen Asset Management visit the web site HERE website.

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Content

Introduction

Part I: Trusteeship in law

• Introduction
• Why have a trust?
  
• Taking office
• What scheme have I got?
  
• The paperwork
• Governance
  
• Investing the assets
• Communications: providing information
• Paying benefits
• Taking advice
• Trustees and employers
• Protecting yourself
• Trustee knowledge, understanding and training
  

Part II: Trusteeship in practice

• Regulation
  
• Funding: the statutory funding objective, surpluses and deficits
• Benefits: administration and changes
• Trade Unions
• State pensions
• Equal treatment
• Early leavers
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Risk, risk management, derisking: buy-outs, buy-ins, incentives
  
• Winding-up the scheme
• When your employer goes bust
• Members’ rights
• Giving advice
• Disputes
• Tax
  

Part III: Resources

• FAQs
  
• Addresses
• Further reading
• TKU for trustees
• Abbreviations
• Pensionspedia
• Websites