Mercer is pleased to announce that they have been appointed to form part of the recently announced Pension Protection Fund (PPF) Specialist Administration Services Panel (SASP). Members of the panel will assume responsibility for administration services for all schemes entering the PPF.
According to Neil Bolding, Head of Scheme Discontinuance in Mercer’s Outsourcing business, “We are thrilled to be part of this specialist panel and very pleased that our experience in this area has been recognised. We look forward to working with both the PPF and our partners in helping to reduce the length of time schemes are in assessment, and to provide member security and comfort much sooner. Our appointment follows a rigorous tender process conducted by the PPF and is evidence of our commitment to this specialist area of Scheme Administration.”
In consultation with industry and following a robust procurement process, eight firms have been selected to provide specialist administration services to help pension schemes complete the PPF assessment and FAS wind-up period more efficiently. The launch of the SASP forms part of the on-going development of the PPF’s Assess & Pay programme. The panel is a follow-up to the successful launch of the Actuarial Valuation Panel (AVP) that was launched last summer. The allocation of work to the SASP is scheduled to commence from September 2012.
According to a statement, the PPF’s Chief Operating Officer, David Heslop said: “Our primary objective is to protect the members of schemes entering the PPF and FAS by providing assurance and certainty sooner. We believe that this group of specialists are best placed to take schemes through the assessment period. Not only will they enable us and trustees to reduce the time that schemes spend in assessment or wind-up but it will also give us access to a small group of specialists that will help us develop best practice, drive efficiencies and set standards in administration performance.
A webcast explaining all about the SASP is available to view on this link.
|