Next 5 Years will be Critical for UK to Secure Pensions of 11 Million

LONDON, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Pension schemes face many macro challenges: deficit, regulation, the need to de-risk in volatile markets, inefficient governance structure, to name but a few. Fiduciary management may offer respite and it's certainly on the agenda for trustees. But others continue to question whether fiduciary management is an innovation on behalf of ailing defined benefit schemes.

In an interview with Finance IQ, Tim Jones, Chief Executive Officer of NEST, outlines the scale of the challenge surrounding pensions: "There's an enormous amount of work for all of us in the pensions industry to do over the next few years, 1.2-1.3 million employers are going to be called to the duties between now and 2018."

Speaking specifically about the challenges around defined benefit schemes in another exclusive interview, Richard Butcher, Managing Director of Pitmans Trustees, told Finance IQ: "Employers will deal with defined benefit (DB) schemes as a legacy financial issue," and will professionalise the board and will look to outsource risk management. Download both interviews here: http://bit.ly/W5Lic2

Fiduciary management is touted by some as one way to help save DB schemes by offering improved governance structure and investment flexibility. Butcher says that as more and more schemes adopt fiduciary management, it's becoming less costly and, in turn, is bringing the returns: "The beauty is it gives the trustees an ability to delegate to somebody else so that investment decisions could be made very, very quickly… That's helped schemes to generate decent levels of return."

Finance IQ's new interview series explores the most pressing problems faced by the UK pension system, providing expert predictions for the future. As well as delving into the state of DB schemes and the merits of fiduciary management, the podcasts explore topics including: final salary schemes; flat-rate state pensions; and auto-enrolment

These interviews were conducted as a prequel to Finance IQ's Fiduciary Management Summit 2013, due to take place on 30th April in London. Please visit our resource centre for the transcripts: http://bit.ly/W5Lic2 

The Agenda includes presentations from: Nick Wheeler, Chairman of Trustees, Volvo Group UK; Melanie Cusack, Director, Pitmans Trustees; Giles Payne, Director, HR Trustees; and Paul Todd, Head of Investment, NEST Corporation. Find the full program, event details and registration information at http://bit.ly/YW9yaX call +44-(0)20-7036-1300 or email enquire@iqpc.co.uk.

Media contact: Helen Winsor, +44-(0)20-7368-9425, Helen.Winsor@iqpc.co.uk or visit http://bit.ly/YW9yaX .

Press are invited to attend this important industry forum, if you would like a complimentary press pass please email Helen.Winsor@iqpc.co.uk