The Play Pen is a linked in group with 800 members (as at January 2011). We opened the group in December 2009 and it’s managed by myself ,Kim Gubler and a number of sub-group managers.

It’s a closed group and you have to be invited or apply to join. I can’t remember turning anyone down but we have asked the odd person to leave if they consistently spam members with products or hassle for work.

In fact we strive to achieve a work-life balance within the group which put the emphasis on getting members together in real time through lunches, outings and events.

Over it’s first year the Play Pen has organised monthly racing trips through the summer to Windsor, boat trips along the Thames, Ocean racing in the Channel, motor-racing at Goodwood, Theatre trips to professional , semi-professional and amateur productions, football and rugby matches, musical events such as Pension Rocks and full on holidays such as our visit to the Cheltenham Racing festival in March. The Playpen runs a monthly golf-day organised by Ben Mulroney.

Although almost all our members are currently connected with pensions, we have an extraordinary diversity of other talents and members with a particular interest are free to establish sub-groups of which we have 14.

Organisations or individuals arranging not for profit industry meetings are free to promote their activities and events and the playpen is regularly to be found congregating at Pension Shows around the country.

We have monthly lunches in London where between ten and twenty of us gather in the Counting House pub in Cornhill to discuss topical pension issues over a pie and a pint. We have a similar lunch organised by Mark Rowlinson and Susan Anyan which alternates between Leeds and Manchester.

We assume that in a relatively wealthy industry, our members can afford to pay their own way on these events. Of course many of our members take part in corporate hostility but the Playpen is pay as you go and though we get group discounts, people donate their time in organising events for free and we rely totally on the honesty of others to pay their way.

The ethos of the Playpen is commonality and members are able to connect with each other on linked  in using the Group as a point of contact. Consequently, those trying to build networks on linked in are able to use the Group to extend the scope and depth of their acquaintance both on and off-line.

Unlike similar pension groups we were not established by recruiters or for recruiters. We do have a jobs page but priority is given to direct job offers by members to members without the need of intermediation.

If you would like to become a member then there are two things you need to do. Firstly, you need a linked in account which you can create by going to www.linkedin.com and secondly you need to search for the Pension Play Pen or you can go straight there by pressing here.

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