Name: Accessing private markets for defined contribution schemes
Start: 2023-05-23T11:18:00Z
End: 2023-05-23T11:19:02.000Z
Location: BrightTALK

A channel for pensions professionals, offering industry insight and lifelong learning to our members and the wider industry. 

The PMI is the largest professional body for pensions professionals in the UK.

Insurers have a unique way of looking at pension risk. Join our partner, Just Defined Benefits, for a for a practical, behind-the-scenes look at how insurers assess and manage risk in today’s volatile environment. From longevity shifts and regulatory change to cyber threats, illiquidity and sponsor covenant concerns, they’ll take us through how insurers tackle the risks schemes must understand before choosing to run on.
Discover:
• How Solvency II shapes insurer behaviour
• Why longevity, liquidity and data risk need new scrutiny
• What trustees can learn from an insurer’s approach to resilience
 
Don’t miss this insight-packed session, designed to help schemes as they navigate their endgame decision making.

An insurer’s view on risk - what every trustee should know

A productive relationship between trustees and their pension scheme administrator is central to achieving strategic goals. Regular engagement and open communication ensure trustees have the insight and support needed to make informed decisions, maintain compliance, and plan for the future. A trusted administrator brings operational expertise, reliable data, and proactive guidance, helping trustees manage risk and deliver a better experience for members. When the relationship moves beyond process management to genuine partnership, it strengthens governance, drives efficiency, and ultimately supports the long-term success of the scheme.

The value of a strong Trustee and Administrator relationship

This year’s Budget is being accompanied by the usual rumours about the potential impact on pensions. Join the PMI’s Chief Strategy Officer Helen Forrest Hall and a panel of experts to explore exactly what changes have been announced and the consequences they will have for the UK’s pension system.

This webinar provides an excellent opportunity to discuss what changes have been announced within hours of the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves having delivered her Budget.

2025 Budget and its impact on pensions

Building on the first two masterclasses - where we explored the shift from passive to active retirement planning, the growing demand for flexibility and personalisation, and the latest policy developments - we now turn our attention to practical solutions that align with these evolving policy changes.

In this session, we will share insights aimed at developing more resilient and inclusive retirement outcomes. Using our global solutions business, we’ll also draw inspiration from other markets to reflect on what’s possible - rethinking design, addressing key risks facing DC members, all while adapting to the evolving regulatory landscape.

DC Masterclass: Building Retirement Solutions - A Practical Approach

Join us for an interactive webinar offering insights into the current challenges and innovations in UK pensions. Drawing on the real experiences of our own Schroders Retirement Benefits Scheme, our panel of experts will explore:


Putting in place a DB run-on strategy and releasing surplus
Designing robust DC default arrangements and incorporating private markets
The key questions trustees and sponsors need to address, and the real-world steps to planning and implementation

This is not just theory—hear first-hand what worked, what lessons were learned, and how you can apply these strategies to your own pension scheme. Whether you are navigating legacy DB issues or evolving your DC defaults, join us for an actionable discussion and take away practical guidance.

Pensions in practice: DB surplus release and next-gen DC default design

Our Endgame Solutions Conference brought together trustees, CFOs, and leading industry experts to explore the complex journey toward scheme endgame. Attendees gained practical insights, expert advice, and proven strategies to help navigate the technical and strategic challenges of DB pension management.

Through sessions led by asset managers, covenant advisors, insurers, legal specialists, and consultants, delegates discovered how to make informed decisions, manage risk, and deliver the best outcomes for their schemes and members.

PMI Endgame Solutions Conference 2025 - highlights video

The UK pensions landscape continues to evolve, with new reforms aimed at reducing unsuitable retirement decisions. Central to these changes are two newly proposed pathways - default and supported - designed to guide members more effectively through their retirement journey. Complementing this is the FCA’s proposed ‘targeted support’ framework, which seeks to bridge the gap between guidance and regulated advice.

In this session, we’ll unpack what these developments mean for trustees and workplace pension providers, including the implications for existing solutions and the need for innovation. However, greater clarity is still needed around trustee engagement, particularly within occupational schemes. With regulatory deadlines fast approaching, we’ll explore practical solutions and how stakeholders can prepare for what’s ahead.

From Policy to Practice: delivering stronger retirement outcomes

This webinar will shine a light on the increased risks schemes face with overseas members.
 With over 1,700,000 UK pension scheme members currently retired living abroad the overseas member population present an increasing challenge to scheme administrators. This webinar will discuss what steps you can proactively take to reduce those risks and ensure that you are engaged with them, know where they are and that they are alive and well.
 What was once a very expensive and tricky problem, has improved greatly with the continued uptake of digital communications. Getting the right mix of engagement options and methods is key.

What to do about overseas members who are at higher risk of fraud?

This webinar will give an overview of the key policy proposals in the Pension Schemes Bill and consider the implications for DB and DC arrangements. Our speakers will consider whether the Government has risen to the challenge of seeking to deliver long-awaited reforms while at the same time putting in place a system that is fit for the future. They will also highlight the key considerations for trustees, employers and those involved in running occupational pension schemes.

The Pension Schemes Bill – what will it mean for you?

Join us for the first of three interactive Masterclasses designed to bring you up to speed on the rapidly changing defined contribution (DC) pensions landscape. This session will delve into the shift from passive to active retirement planning and the integration of savings and pension strategies, emphasising the growing need for flexibility, personalisation, and regulatory alignment.
Our solutions-driven approach, supported by digital innovation and global insights, is crucial to enhancing member outcomes. We will explore three main access pathways: advised, guided and default, highlighting the importance of consistent and adaptable frameworks. By addressing diverse member needs across all retirement stages, this Masterclass aims to foster more resilient and inclusive retirement planning.

Mastering the Evolving DC Pensions Landscape

There's a growing recognition of the vital role that employers and pension trustees play in helping members navigate their retirement journey. Driven by latest research and insights, this webinar will explore:
•What employees need to know as they approach retirement, the challenges faced and knowledge gaps.
•Guided retirement and targeted support: What the Pension Schemes Bill and FCA consultation mean for trustees, employers, and members.
•The role of employers and trustees in helping employees navigate the decisions to be made in the lead up to and at retirement.

The new era of retirement provision?

This webinar is aimed at preparing learners for the Autumn exams. The team will be guiding learners through the Testreach exam portal, with the aim that learners feel more aware and confident of the end-to-end process that goes into taking online exams. There will be an opportunity for learners to ask questions at the end.

PMI 2025 Autumn exam preparation and guidance

The Annual Conference 2025 is a flagship event of the PMI, bringing together leading experts, policymakers, and industry professionals to explore the most pressing issues shaping the future of pensions. Taking place on 5 June 2025 in the heart of London, the conference offers a full day of thought provoking keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions on topics such as regulatory developments, responsible investment, financial literacy, and innovation in pension scheme management. Designed to inform, challenge, and connect the pensions community, the event is an essential gathering for anyone involved in the delivery, governance, or strategy of workplace pensions.

PMI Annual Conference 2025 - highlights

It is a truth increasingly acknowledged that a pension scheme in need of good governance is in want of a professional trustee. However, have the governance benefits of a move to a sole trustee model started to be outweighed by the potential conflicts from a consolidated trustee industry? As governance specialist and professional trustees, Pi Partnership will be considering the benefits and drawbacks of the various trustee models.

Sole Trustee – Friend or Foe?

This webinar is aimed at highlighting the need for PMI qualifications to remain relevant whilst fairly test a learner’s knowledge, to best prepare them for the Pensions sector. We want to ensure every learner has a reasonable chance of completing our qualifications within a timeframe that is practical, whilst remaining robust.

PMI Advanced Diploma in Retirement Provision (ADRP) assessment changes

Join us one year on from the effective date of the General Code. With great progress being made across the industry, we would like to share with you our innovative approach to linking together the need to have an Effective System of Governance (ESOG) with the new requirement (for schemes with more than 100 members) to produce an Own Risk Assessment (ORA). 
 
Unlock the full potential of your enhanced governance arrangements and make the General Code work for you with our streamlined solution. Reflected in our standout BW CORE system, hear how we have integrated the ESOG and ORA with the risk register and calendar to facilitate an all-in-one risk management and governance oversight process, with clear reporting enabling you to track and prioritise with ease. 
 
Please join us as we take you through the journey, including a focus on how BW CORE ensures the production of the ORA is an efficient process. 
 
We are also proud to announce our exclusive partnership with BoardClic, the leading platform for digital board performance reviews and board member evaluations. We will take you through the platform and show you how this partnership will enhance Board reviews. Combining our consulting expertise with BoardClic’s technology solution, we enable pension trustees to gain deeper insights into the effectiveness of their board and benchmark against peers. This will ensure a robust evaluation process by identifying strengths and any areas for improvement whilst aiding more effective decision-making.

Own Risk Assessment – Showcasing your core strengths

As schemes prepare for Pension Dashboards, confidence in member data is crucial for an efficient rollout especially for members with multiple pots.
Connection to dashboards will not be successful if member data is missing or inaccurate. This could result in missing pots, vast partial matches and in some cases pots being allocated to the wrong person.
Understanding your data quality and addressing it before connection is a vital step to reduce the risk of failed records and customer complaints.

Data Preparation for Pension Dashboards

This popular PMI event is focused on navigating the complexities and challenges within defined benefit schemes. Set against the backdrop of an ever-evolving financial landscape, the conference will provide a comprehensive exploration of critical topics shaping the pensions industry.

Industry experts and thought leaders will meet to discuss strategies for managing risks, optimising investment portfolios, and ensuring the sustainability of defined benefit pension schemes. Attendees can expect insightful sessions on regulatory updates, technological advancements and innovative solutions that impact pension fund management.

This conference is the ideal place to network and collaborate with peers to share best practices. With a keen emphasis on practical insights, the event also offers the opportunity for pension scheme trustees, investment managers, and advisers to stay abreast of the latest trends, exchange ideas, and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with defined benefit schemes.

Defined Benefit Pensions Conference 2025

Gareth Craft and Jack Gillions from the Linklaters Pensions team will discuss some of the key legal hurdles Trustees need to overcome, viewed through the lens of the member’s perspective and experience, on transfers to a DC master trust and when entering the decumulation phase. They will look at some of the key practical and regulatory issues faced by Trustees when giving guidance to help members navigate the options during the decumulation phase, along with the potential legal risks of introducing decumulation options into a scheme at retirement.

Legal obstacles to a satisfactory member journey

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work – How TPR and the FCA are working together on pensions matters
The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority are close cousins. They are both regulators who deal with pensions but approach it from a different angle. Until recent years they have not been operating in the same territory but now the barrier between these territories is fading. How is this affecting providers, employers and pension scheme trustees right now? Will the new consumer duty mean that some mastertrusts find themselves being regulated by more than one regulator? What influence could this have on the development of the pensions industry in the future? This session will bring the various strands together to look at where the collaboration between the two regulators might be heading and what impact this could have on us all.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The climate emergency is accelerating with the latest IPCC report highlighting the need for immediate and substantial action. In this session we will hear about the practicalities from an investment and investor perspective of highlights and challenges of achieving net zero in a fixed income context.

We’re all moving along the DC glidepath…. Mind the Carbon!

How attitudes and relationships towards money have evolved through the cost of living crisis and the impact on member behaviour.
The session will cover how we think differently about different sources of money including looking at how our relationships and attitudes to finance, wealth and value, may change as perceptions of money evolve. It will also explore the impact of this on member behaviour not only at retirement but throughout their career and what provisions can be put in place to support members.

How attitudes and relationships towards money have evolved

2022 was the year inflation returned with a vengeance. This new regime is not just about higher average inflation, but also higher inflation volatility. There was nowhere to hide as equities and bonds fell together making traditional diversifying techniques redundant - particularly painful later in the lifecycle. We will explore what this means for DC portfolios, taking tangible lessons from 2022.

Solving the Pre-Retirement Conundrum

Threading the needle to provide options for DC investors is difficult – from meeting regulatory requirements, to solving for the operational constraints of DC platforms to fitting into master fund charge caps. An area where DC plans are under provided for in terms of options is real estate. It is the same across other private markets. Other institutional investors have a wide spectrum of real estate investment options in terms of geography (why limit yourself to the UK at only 5% of the universe), sector and risk return profile. Invesco has worked hard to address these challenges by providing investors with access to platform friendly offerings that meet the return, diversification, liquidity, and sustainability needs in a cost-effective manner.

In this session Simon Redman, Real Estate Managing Director and Mary Cahani, Director – UK institutional at Invesco will talk through the development of these real estate offerings and how they can help meet investor needs in the short and long run.

How can real estate help meet DC member needs in the short and long run?

DC and Master Trust Symposium 2023

This panel will discuss how DC schemes, both single employer and master trusts, can incorporate private markets investments into default portfolio allocations today. Conversation topics will include how to overcome challenges such as charge cap considerations, daily pricing, liquidity management and performance fees in a DC world. Lastly, this session will also address continued government encouragement by reducing barriers to access such private markets investments for DC investors.

Accessing private markets for defined contribution schemes

Pensions

Private Market

Government

Investors

liquidity

master trusts

panel

discussion

finance

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Accessing private markets for defined contribution schemes

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