I keep being asked what my role within PSIT actually is and what I actually do. It has made me question whether people in the pensions world - including many pension trustees - really understand what a difference a professional trustee secretary could make to their board.
People assume we are simply a ‘secretary’, but the Secretary to the Trustee role is a lot more than just making meeting arrangements and taking minutes. We have a specific role on the pension trustee board and are a point of contact for all third parties including advisers, the Pensions Regulator, the sponsoring employer and pension scheme members.
Trustee secretaries work on a variety of pension schemes and experience different issues on a daily basis. If you have an issue or concern to resolve, we’ve probably seen it before! We work on behalf of pension trustees to ensure they meet governance requirements and are compliant with the never ending list of regulations. This is especially important given that the Pensions Regulator is focusing on the quality of trusteeship, governance and the implementation of GDPR.
So, for all those who want to know more, here is a typical day in my working life...
Dear diary
Handled lots of emails on all sorts of issues.
09:30 - Conference call with a pension trustee board and its advisers to discuss an employer covenant report and the detrimental effect a corporate transaction might have on the scheme’s employer covenant.
10:45 - Arranging for an annual report and accounts to be signed on behalf of a trustee board.
11.00 - Drafting a pension member newsletter for review and agreement by the trustees.
13:00 - Reviewing and formulating a recommendation to the pension trustees for a recent death in deferment case.
14:30 - Preparing for a trustees’ meeting the following day.
15.45 - Requesting details of a scheme sponsor’s financial performance in advance of a trustees’ meeting the following week.
16:15 - Liaising with the sponsoring employer’s accounts department to arrange payment of adviser invoices.
16:30 - Reporting changes to a pension trustee board structure on Companies House.
17:30 – Sign off and run for the train home that I’m about to miss!
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Vidett is a trading name of Vidett Governance Services Limited, Vidett Trust Corporation Limited & Vidett HRT Limited
Registered in England and Wales numbers 3021321, 10842337 & 745598
Registered office: 3rd Floor Forbury Works, 37-43 Blagrave Street, Reading, RG1 1PZ
