Pension scheme trustees should make continuous professional development a priority as pension plans face an increasingly complex regulatory environment, according to speakers at the Pensions Management Institute’s annual conference in London earlier this month.
The panel argued that trustee capability must evolve beyond technical knowledge to include stronger decision-making, leadership, and behavioral skills.
The discussion at the PMI conference touched on several challenges trustees face: the government’s newly published surplus consultation, the upcoming Value for Money framework, and consolidation across both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes.
Trustee capability under the microscope
Mike Weston, a professional trustee at Pi Partnership, said trustee capability had improved significantly in recent years but warned that consolidation could bring further shifts. “Overall, the industry is more capable than it used to be,” he said.
“But if you step back and look at DB schemes consolidating through risk transfer, DC master trusts becoming larger and fewer in number, and LGPS pooling, logically, there will be fewer trustees going forward.”
Weston added that attracting people into trusteeship is a challenge, as structural changes make it harder to establish the role as a viable long-term career.
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Rachika Cooray, partner and head of governance at LCP, said technical knowledge is just a “starting point” for effective trusteeship. “Trustee capability has shifted quite a lot. Technical knowledge is almost the baseline. Trustees are operating in a new ecosystem where influence is increasingly concentrated among a relatively small number of advisers, asset managers, fiduciary managers and professional trustees,” she said.
Cooray emphasized that strong trustee boards need the right mix of skills, an inclusive culture, confidence in decision-making, and the ability to challenge advisers effectively. “Soft skills really matter: communication, strategic thinking and creating an environment where different voices can contribute are increasingly important,” she added.
As the pensions sector consolidates and schemes grow more complex, the question of whether formal accreditation for trustees should become mandatory is getting harder to ignore. The panel’s discussion suggested that the industry may be moving toward a system where minimum standards are enforced, not just encouraged.
If that happens, the role of a trustee could look quite different in a few years — more professionalized, but also perhaps narrower in scope, with fewer individuals overseeing larger pools of assets.
The push for accreditation
The panel also discussed proposals around trustee accreditation and minimum standards, with the Department for Work and Pensions’ consultation on trustee effectiveness still open. Weston strongly supported formal accreditation, arguing that the pensions sector remains an outlier since other financial services professions have formal accreditation and qualifications. “As the demands on trustees increase, accreditation and a trustee register are logical developments.”
Cooray suggested a tiered approach, with higher expectations for professional trustees, trustee chairs, and those overseeing more complex arrangements such as collective defined contribution schemes and superfunds.
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Learning as a continuous process
The speakers also highlighted the importance of ongoing learning. Weston questioned whether existing continuing professional development requirements were sufficient given the pace of change. Cooray urged schemes to integrate training into regular board activities rather than treating it as a standalone exercise.
“The best boards build learning into the rhythm of their governance processes,” she said. “Capability isn’t something you achieve once. It needs to evolve alongside the industry.”
Despite concerns about the future size of the trustee population, both speakers remained optimistic about attracting new talent.
“Pensions are never dull,” Weston concluded.
“There’s always something new to learn.”
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