B&CE, the workplace pension provider to over 1.6 million people, is pleased to announce the appointment of the Board of Trustees for its automatic enrolment solution, The People’s Pension. Wholly independent directors will run The People’s Pension Trustee Limited; there will be no B&CE directors or employees sitting on its Board. PAN Governance LLP, a prominent independent trustee firm, has been selected as Corporate Director. Additionally, Steve Delo, Chief Executive of PAN Governance will be appointed as Chairman. Alan Pickering, Chairman of BESTrustees Limited, will also join as a director of the new Trust Company. Building on this principle of independence, the directors will help shape future governance and provide additional safeguards for employers and their employees.
Commenting on the formation of the Board, Jamie Fiveash, Director of Customer Solutions at B&CE said: “As a not-for-profit organisation which puts its members first, B&CE has always placed good governance at the top of our agenda. We wanted to strengthen this proposition even further for The People’s Pension and will achieve this by appointing independent trustees to the Board. Having made up a Board entirely of independent trustees is not commonplace with other multi-employer trusts - we believe this will help us to ensure the suitability of the product offering and that the highest standards of service are maintained for members. We are delighted that Alan Pickering and Steve Delo have agreed to join the Board and look forward to working with them to build on our early success and make The People’s Pension a leading player in the pensions industry.”
In November 2011, B&CE announced its intention to provide a brand new automatic enrolment solution aimed at supporting any employer in the UK. The People’s Pension, a Super Trust based pension scheme, has been designed and built on the same administration system that has successfully processed pension arrangements for the construction industry for over 10 years.
B&CE is a not-for-profit organisation and as such works solely for the benefit of its members, rather than to provide a return for any institutional or private investors. Its current Board structure consists of a healthy balance between member representation, employer representation and independent financial services experts. However, as The People’s Pension will be available to all employers in the UK, it was felt necessary that its new Trust Company and governance structure should consist of wider independent representation.
Alan Pickering, Chairman of BESTrustees, commented on his appointment: ‘Making sure that everyone who has a job has a pension that goes with that job has been my life-long ambition. Becoming a Trustee of The People’s Pension is therefore a humbling honour and wonderful opportunity. I look forward to playing my part in explaining the merits of good workplace pension provision to employers and employees alike.’
Steve Delo, Chief Executive of PAN Governance also said: “PAN is very excited about leading the trusteeship of The People’s Pension. A major differentiator of this scheme is the proven administrative excellence of B&CE. They are experts at managing high volume membership situations across multiple employers - a critical skill set for delivering a quality auto enrolment solution that will work from day one. I have been impressed with the intellectual rigour applied to scheme design, the open-minded approach of B&CE management, the strength in depth of their team and their commitment to transparency and independent governance. Employers signing up to The People’s Pension can do so with the confidence they are being looked after by a company that has seen it all and done it all before.”
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