Optimising Pension Schemes: Administration Service Improvement

Dalriada.Together® transformed a pension scheme, incorporating significant enhancements including the improvement of administration services, trustee-employer relations, investment, and overall efficiency, leading to heightened member engagement.

Overview 

This not-for-profit organisation has a DB pension scheme of over 2000 members and a trustee board made up of retired senior employees who were beginning to consider stepping down.  With an in-house pensions manager also responsible for administration, the pension scheme was taking up a disproportionate amount of management time. 

The narrow investment strategy, poor funding position, weak employer covenant and stretch to in-house resources had made the employer keen to seek professional insight.   

Challenge 

The trustees were demanding more from the employer than they were able to provide and there was a lack of expertise available to explore the options and provide possible solutions. The pension scheme advisers were leading the decision-making process as the trustees did not have the skills or experience to challenge their advice sufficiently.  

Administration data and some previous administrative decisions had made the scheme difficult to manage and there were complex issues to rectify.  

Solution  

Dalriada.Together gave the employer the option to streamline the pension scheme management and appoint a professional trustee from the same provider. Retaining the existing board as a consultative committee reassured the outgoing trustees and allowed the value of their history and knowledge of the scheme to be utilised.

The integrated approach allowed several aspects of the scheme to be altered to provide a better relationship between the trustees and the employer and help put the scheme in a better position despite covenant and funding issues.  

Dalriada.Together was able to access more appropriate and wider investment options, saving the employer money and making a positive step for the investments in the pension scheme.  

The insight from Dalriada allowed the company to take a more measured approach to scheme funding decisions, generally improving the relationship the employer has with the scheme and their willingness to engage in difficult, but crucial, decision making. This has led to a recovery plan being formulated to address the scheme deficit.  

Migrating the scheme to Dalriada’s administration platform has allowed the data and scheme benefits to be screened and cleaned and it is now in a better position to be used to serve the members.  

Benefit 

The Dalriada.Together proposition gave the employer back the resource it needed to concentrate on the business while the pension scheme was in safe hands. Instead of focussing on what the employer was not providing, Dalriada was able to take a realistic view on what the employer was able to provide that continued to meet the strategic, long-term direction of the scheme.  

Dalriada’s belief in open and honest communication with all stakeholders has led the consultative trustee committee to be reassured that the employer will continue to be challenged to meet the needs of the scheme to allow the trustees to protect the scheme members’ interests.  

Results 

The members of the consultative committee have now retired, confident that Dalriada is serving the scheme members well. Employer engagement with the scheme and the trustees has increased and there is an open and honest dialogue between both parties. The administration service continues to improve as the data is rectified and the system creates a better service for the members. 

Other Case Studies

Explore our success stories in "Transformative Collaboration: Achieving Improved Funding Position" and "Scheme Performance: Improving Trustee-Employer Communication." These case studies highlight our expertise in driving positive outcomes through collaboration and improving communication dynamics within pension schemes. Discover more about our impactful contributions by exploring these compelling narratives.

Find out more/get in touch

In light of this remarkable success story, it's clear that strategic collaboration with Dalriada.Together can bring about transformative results for your pension scheme. If you're facing similar challenges, there's no better time than now to take action. Contact Dalriada.Together today, and let's embark on a journey to secure your pension scheme's future and enhance the well-being of all stakeholders.