Pensions - Articles - Trustees need more time to action their responsibilities

 Helen Ball, Partner and Head of DC at Sackers, commented: “We welcome the proposals that will bring clarity and transparency for members and to help them better understand the costs associated with their retirement benefits. We would, however, like to see trustees being given more time to be able to get everything right first time.

 “We believe that trustees will need to undertake preparatory work and to read and understand the information when it comes in for the first time – as well as asking questions of the asset managers. Allowances should also be made for trustees to contextualise information that may come in different formats from different managers, since no standard format has been proposed, and more guidance is needed on exactly what investment and illustration information trustees are required to provide.”

 Ball continued: “Too much detail or a rushed response due to imposed time constraints could actually hinder member understanding of the messages and information. The proposals are a big step forward, so in the initial stages it is vital to give schemes enough time to get it right from the outset.”