A good article from Alex Levey and Professional Pensions which we at Pensions Mutual will discuss and take onboard

Trustees should prepare for changes to governance and decision-making from collective defined contribution (CDC) arrangements, Zedra says.

The pension service provider highlighted the new responsibilities which will be required of trustees, including decisions affecting member benefits, with client director Sam Burden saying they will be faced with complex decisions, balancing

“different forms of risk and fairness between generations and the long-term sustainability of the scheme”.

“CDC has significant potential, but its success will depend on more than scheme design alone. As the UK CDC market develops, trustee boards should consider whether they have the right governance, experience and perspective to meet the demands of this evolving landscape. Preparing now will put schemes in the strongest position to make balanced, well-informed decisions when it matters most.”

I am blogging separately about the decisions from the Trustees of DC Pension Schemes. This is potentially contentious and further clarification of how members can be transferred from DC to CDC without consent is important.

Where is progress to delivering CDC in 2027 coming from?

We think there’s a market in preparation (there may be five Proprietors working on delivery)

To suppose that this summary of the market so far is complete would be a mistake but it is a mistake that is being accidentally made repeatedly. This is what we need to challenge at this stage!

TPT Retirement Solutions announced its intention to enter the multi-employer CDC market, targeting authorisation by the end of 2026 and launch in 2027. Aon also announced plans last month to introduce a multi-employer CDC section within its master trust.

Aon has announced that it intends to start trading (if authorised) in 2028, TPT is getting ready to get authorised as are the two challengers. It is easy to suppose that because these two established companies have had a master trust authorised , the UMES CDC authorisation will follow.

I was disappointed that the article ended without mentioning either “challengers”, Pensions Mutual and Arboreum Pensions (we believe launching as Collective Pensions Limited) whose intention is to ease congestion and widen choice for employers moving from DC to CDC in 2027.

We challenge whether four schemes should be reduced to two because two do not make such frequent and well drafted press releases.

But to leave it in no doubt. The Press has publicised both Adrian Boulding ,  and myself and colleague Chris Bunford this year.

In a recent survey of pension managers , there was a complaint that there was too little noise from the would-be proprietors of CDC schemes (their trustees cannot market their scheme).

To make it clear, we  like being quoted by the likes of Professional Pensions, Corporate Adviser and the Trade Press in general. We hope that they will ask us for our opinion rather than relying on press releases!

The market is bubbling under as it must till more collective pensions have been authorised.  As a mutual , Pension Mutual needs to listen  to as many potential employers, unions, advisers and pension trustees as we can and  Sam Burden’s comment is welcome.

The only way we can ensure  we meet the demand for collective pensions is by listening to the organisations that want to use us and their staff who will be members!