Client feedback

“I would recommend them to anyone - I have dealt with a number of other independent trustee firms and would rate PSGS as the best. We are very happy with Mark and the service we get.”

Julia Morton,

Camellia plc

“The trustee training course covered a wide variety of subjects which gives a good basis for future discussion and decision making during trustee meetings.”

Jean-Paul Gobel,

Heerema

“Back in the day there was a large trustee board, with several independents (from the financial world) and the ex-Chairman of the company was offered the role as Chair of Trustees as a sweetener when he stepped down. Unionised company then divided - broad range of active members. They needed some expertise, consistency and leadership during this time. Wanted a serious/professional to lead and guide the trustees. ”

Dave Benstead ,

Diodes Zetex

“Alex has helped in our dealings with other advisers using his experience of other schemes.”

Angela Clayton ,

Accent Group

“They are very proactive and full of new ideas, they've brought better scheduling and better minute sets.”

Paul Rudd,

Express Newspapers

“I enjoy working with PSGS and we have a very positive relationship. I was new to pensions and found them very helpful.”

Bruce Allison,

RTUK

Integrated risk management plans: a request to pension trustee advisers

Topic:

Legal & governance

Date published:

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Author:

Wayne Phelan

Admittedly it is still relatively early days for integrated risk management plans (IRMPs) but I have a request… Can we please make them useful and easy for trustees to read?

A lot of work has been done in recent years to make communications for pension members more effective. I think many communications produced for trustees - be they IRMPs or other reports and documents tabled at trustee meetings - would benefit from the same treatment.

I may be over-simplifying it, but I don’t think advisers would go far wrong by thinking through these few questions before preparing a document for pension trustees:

How knowledgeable is everyone in the ‘audience’?

What are the key messages I want to get across?

Are there any metrics that need to be monitored and how do they relate to each other?

If so, how can they best be presented?

What decisions or actions do the trustees need to take based on the information I am providing?

How can I help the trustees to take those decisions most efficiently?

Having to plough through several hundred/thousand words is not the answer. Many of us like diagrams, charts, ‘traffic lights’ and other illustrations just as much as our scheme members do. After all, they are often the most effective way of getting the point across. The ‘techies’ amongst us can always dive into the detail at the back, if narrative and tables of data are consigned to appendices.

So, when you are developing an IRMP or next preparing another pensions report, please remember it is just as important to engage trustees as it is scheme members. We are only humans after all.

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