
Alison Hatcher, Head of Trusteeship, Vidett
Alison Hatcher, head of trusteeship, Vidett gives her view on shifts in the industry, why the industry needs to harness true diversity of thought on boards, and why marrying tradition with ambition is key to delivering great outcomes to members.
1. From your point of view, what have been the industry and policy highlights of the past 30 years?
The pensions industry has undergone significant changes over the last 30 years shaped by regulatory changes, economic shifts and evolving societal needs.
It all started with Robert Maxwell and the scandal created from pensions mismanagement providing us the Pensions Act 1995. Since then, we have seen The Pensions Regulator (TPR), The Pension Protection Fund and auto-enrolment all created to protect members. These were significant changes, but since 2012 we have seen little real change in policy, it is the industry that has tried to adapt to member needs despite a lack of regulatory support.
The biggest change recently is the recognition by TPR that they need to be a risk-based regulator to support the industry and the innovation needed moving forward - true collaboration so that together we can thrive.
Other shifts in the industry, such as the increased focus on issues like sustainability have also been highlights. It's a big topic that impacts schemes, investments and the relationships with members in multiple ways. It can be hard to see a clear way through but presents a range of opportunities to think and engage differently. After all, sustainability is, by definition, being able to continue over a long period of time - the driving force behind pensions.
2. Where are we today in terms of delivering great outcomes to members? Where do we, as an industry, need to do more?
Member outcomes are specific to each scheme. It's clear that members could say better outcomes come from protecting member savings over time, delivering good value from services including returns and providing access to those savings easily.
Many members will also need guidance and support to make decisions along the way, to support their lifestyle aspirations. The challenge is, do members realise they need that guidance and support?
To support delivering these outcomes better in the future we need to harness true diversity of thought on boards. Trusteeship is a career and supporting new talent to train and serve on boards can help shape the future, challenging service providers and true value from a member's perspective. A strong and diverse board provides invaluable support to member interests and helps manage risk for sponsors that fundamentally supports a scheme's success.
As an industry, we need to properly embed effective communication into the way we manage schemes for our members. Too often this is still an afterthought, placed too far down the trustee board's agenda despite the positive impact it can have on member outcomes.
3. Looking to the future, what are the key areas in which you expect pensions to develop to meet the need of members? How can those in the industry play a role in building a pensions system fit for the future?
We need to marry tradition with ambition and be open minded to create value for members today and in the future. Value and security are industry themes and key deliverables as a foundation of our service provision to the members.
As part of this, we need to consider how pension services and data fit into members' everyday lives and needs. This could be as simple as ensuring accuracy and access to data or it could be incorporating data, decision making tools and payment functionality into wealth or banking apps. Consistent, accurate and digital data will help facilitate this and support providers to innovate services or products to meet the future needs of members, employers and schemes.
Many of these key strategic themes and decisions will be decided on and supported by boards, which is why cognitive diversity and effectiveness of these boards will be essential to delivering true value to members.