To kick off the 2025 Programme of PensionChair meetings, our technical partners will talk through what is coming down the line for occupational pension schemes including regulatory changes, emerging risks, and also opportunities. We will be covering a range of topics including Governance, Risk, Covenant, Funding, De-Risking and wider macro-economic and geopolitical issues...

We are very excited to be able to invite you to the PensionChair Annual Lunch on 23rd January 2025 which is very kindly hosted by Rothesay. Always a member favourite, we believe this year's lunch will be extra special and we would be delighted if you can join us.

This online session will be an opportunity to hear the latest developments in GMP equalisation and common issues that are arising, based on projects currently in progress. We will hear what can be learned from those projects that could aid streamlining and decision-making for those currently going through or about to embark on the process.

In the last year schemes with more viable covenants have been engaging with the consolidator. This meeting will be an opportunity for those trustees looking at all the end-game options and considering which would be best for their members, to consider Clara as a consolidator in that context. We will hear more from those who were involved directly in recent transactions.  Some of the things they will be talking about will include the decision-making process that the trustees engaging with Clara went through and importantly whether they got the assurance they needed that their members will be more secure. 

Following on from our online agenda setting session in January. This meeting will give members the opportunity to discuss what is becoming a perennial challenge for them, the regulatory burden. How, in practice can you ‘get your arms around’ the large number of things you’ve got to do to be compliant with regulation?

Trustee liability has become a critical topic as pension schemes face increasing scrutiny and complexity in regulatory requirements. Understanding the risks trustees carry and the mechanisms to safeguard against personal and professional exposure is essential to maintaining confidence and integrity in their roles.

This session, led by Jenny Gibbons will be an opportunity for chairs to learn from each other. We will be focusing on running meetings effectively and getting the best out of all trustees around the table. It will be an opportunity for chairs to share specific challenges and failures, as well as helpful pointers on what has led to an improvement in trustee board effectiveness.

This meeting has been convened at short notice to brief chairs of trustees on the key aspects of the recent guidance on covenant released by the Regulator as it affects them. The guidance comes in the wake of the Funding Code which brought with it the potential for added complexity in dealing with the employer, when for example coming to an agreement on what reasonable affordability is and being required to conclude on the sponsors ability to support risk which will require information to be gleaned from the employer which will then need to scrutinised by trustees.

Winmark's member-only interactive webinar: Catherine Qi, our Head of Research, will share key insights from our flagship annual report, C-Suite Priorities 2025, which uncovers the top strategic challenges and priorities shaping the C-Suite agenda. This year’s findings demonstrate that our C-Suite network are focusing on four critical pillars: Pursue Economic Growth, Progress AI Governance, Power the Future, and Perform to Transform.

The onus is now on trustees to ensure they have considered all options when agreeing their end-game strategy. With pressure from numerous stakeholders and new developments in the market, this meeting will be an opportunity to ‘fact-check’ the risks and opportunities associated with each option...

The relationship with the sponsoring employer is one of the most important that the Chair has to manage. Recent developments including the Funding Code and the possibility of unlocking surplus have added new potential flare points between trustees and the sponsoring employer. This meeting will focus on how chairs can ensure the relationship is in the best place possible, while still ensuring that the best interests of members are not compromised.

Our guest speaker is David Walmsley, Director of Trusteeship, Administration, and DB Supervision at the Pensions Regulator. David has worked on some of the largest interventions with pension schemes that TPR has been involved in, including BHS. David has also played a key role in the development of policy and guidance, most recently, the new DB Funding Regulations, Code, and accompanying covenant guidance.

At this meeting, you will get an update on recent trends in mortality and the latest life expectancy projections and what this may mean for your scheme in terms of assumption setting. We will also discuss the implications from a transactions perspective, for example on longevity pricing and what this means for longevity swaps, buy-ins etc...