It’s all too common for pension trustees to worry that they’re not doing their jobs. In fact, research completed this year has shown that when asked what makes it difficult for them to plan for the future of their businesses, pension trustees regularly cite issues such as a lack of time, resources, knowledge and information.
Unfortunately, pension trustees may not be achieving their goals at all. In fact, they may be directly failing at building and protecting pensions, and pension managers may not even know it.
That’s why pension managers need to take board recruiting seriously. The agenda that is set by pension trustees, one that has its own set of values and responsibilities, has to reflect that of the firm’s overarching business strategy. This process is about alignment: a pension plan has to reflect this strategy so that everyone is working towards the same outcomes.
In our new paper on planning ahead to create a strategic Board of Trustees for your pension plan in 2020, we’ll discuss having the right structure, the right processes and the right people involved in running a pension scheme, with a business orientation in mind. It’s critical to provide trustees with the right skills to not only mitigate the risks the pension plan faces over the long term, but also to capitalize on any short term market opportunities.
At Marris Miller, we believe that you can align pension trustees with your business and the organization’s purpose and goals. It’s not just what you want for your pensions, but what you want for your businesses, organizations, customers, employees that matters. You can tap into insights into how your way of managing pensions – from communication to risk management strategies – can help you to achieve your desired organizational outcomes and impact.