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...

This evening will offer members the opportunity to explore the current risk landscape with Lee Foulger, Director – Financial Stability Strategy and Risk (FSSR) at the Bank of England, who will share insights into how the Bank is monitoring developments and where they see potential vulnerabilities in the pensions and wider financial system as well as steps that can be taken to manage and mitigate them. This dinner will provide the space to consider the risks and what they could mean for long-term investors, pension scheme stability, and financial resilience. With increasing global uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and shocks from the US including tariffs and trade policy, the risk environment continues to shift