Survival or Success?
How to navigate choppy waters and a surge of regulation
Annual pensions conference magazine
We opened our conference with Sarah Smart, chair of the Pensions Regulator ("TPR"), answering questions about TPR's work and their plans for the future. The amount of new legislation, regulation and guidance is unprecedented and covers all aspects of pension scheme management. How can trustees and sponsors plot their way through all the new material? Jon Forsyth gave his tips on successful journey planning: work out where you're going; how you're going to get there; and what to do if you get blown off course.
The letters "ESG" are never far away these days when considering investment. We delved into the "E" and the "S" with talks from Dan Mikulskis and Laasya Shekaran. Dan started by revealing his personal carbon footprint, and talks of the importance of alignment and stewardship when setting investment strategies and managing assets. Laasya highlighted the importance of understanding social issues when choosing investments. We had two sessions that focus on individual members. First Daniel Jacobson explained the new measures to protect against scams and concluded that it's better to defend a transfer that you stopped than a scam that went ahead. In the final session, Steve Webb examined three areas of "unfinished business" in relation to pension freedoms and what they could mean for members. Steve also revealed previously unpublished research on the right time to buy an annuity.
Rachika Cooray busted some pension governance myths - touching on subjects as wide-ranging as hybrid meetings, the new single code and board diversity. The popular Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard revealed some interesting findings about non-covid mortality trends and warned not only that inequalities are growing but that the mortality legacy of Covid-19 is likely to far outlast the pandemic itself. And finally, for schemes that are looking to complete the journey that Jon Forsyth has a plan for them, Yadu Dashora illustrated, with an engaging case study, how the traditional and emerging solutions can enable schemes to secure benefits for their members.
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