As a Professional Trustee, you can’t escape from the fact that data has become a strategic asset in today’s digital world – and pension administration data is no different. Given my background in administration and management of data projects, it is clear that data quality can have a significant impact on both the benefits and risks with digital data.
Data underpins every aspect of pension scheme management; valuations, liabilities, annual report and accounts, levies, projects and member services, these functions are all based upon the administration data held. Good quality data not only facilitates operational efficiencies, but can also enhance member experience, reduce costs, errors and complaints, ensure compliance and enable project success.
The pensions industry often talks about the quality of member data, but ‘scheme’ data is just as important and is rarely discussed.
Scheme data reflects the rules for operating a pension scheme. IT systems hold digital scheme data to define the rules that the processes must follow. Processes update member data based on these rules (scheme data). Ensuring scheme data is accurate is essential to ensuring accuracy of member data. Poor quality scheme data can have a significant impact on the quality of member data, particularly for bulk processes.
Rules data is important because it can affect large populations of membership for which the rule applies. Many legacy data cleanse projects have been in response to ‘rules’ data being incorrect… A pension increase process that increased pensions by the wrong amount; the wrong factor used in a calculation; or the wrong investment split in a lifestyle or phasing investment process.
These issues can be undetected for years with compounded data issues and member detriment. They may be less common than member data issues, but they have much larger impacts.
Forces conspire against good quality data maintenance.
Getting accurate data at the outset is difficult. Employers have their own issues with data quality in their payroll systems and these can be passed onto the pension scheme. Members don’t treat their pension savings in the same way they do their bank account, and changes to personal circumstances are often not shared with the pension scheme.
Maintaining scheme data is easier, usually driven by the employer, trustee or regulation there are controlled processes in place to amend, test and deliver these data changes into production environments.
At Pi Partnership, we are often appointed to provide a review of the scheme’s governance, and increasingly we see that this includes a review of the way in which digitalisation of data is driving data quality. As a Professional Trustee, understanding the data processes underpinning your scheme and being able to constructively challenge the administrator further diversifies the skills available to the Trustee Board.
Good-quality pension scheme data is fundamental to effective governance, compliance and risk management. As systems become increasingly interconnected and AI adoption grows, trustees must understand how data is managed, shared and scrutinised to support better decisions and member outcomes.
The role of the professional trustee is evolving as DB schemes move towards endgame, governance models change and technology plays a greater role. But as AI adoption accelerates, trustees must look beyond data and operational risks to consider its environmental impact — and whether ESG thinking needs to evolve alongside it.
Pension scheme data underpins everything from valuations and liabilities to member services and project delivery. But while member data quality receives significant attention, scheme data can be just as critical. This article explores the risks of digitalisation, the importance of accurate scheme data and why effective governance and trustee oversight are essential.
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Amanda is a Board Director of Pi Partnership Group and leads the development of Pi’s services. She works closely with clients, the Pi team and professional advisers to ensure all of Pi’s services meet the changing needs of the pension market and deliver clear value to Pi’s clients.
Amanda has over twenty-five years’ experience in the pensions industry and, as well as ensuring Pi’s services continue to meet the needs of our clients in a rapidly changing pension landscape, is also a member of Pi’s Executive Management Team. She provides specialist project management for clients on a range of services, including adviser selection and review, trustee board assessment and governance design.
As well as being a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) and Chair of the PMI London Group, Amanda holds PMI certificates in Pensions Automatic Enrolment and DC Governance, was a past Prince2 practitioner and is a Certified Risk Management Practitioner.
What do you most enjoy about your role: Successfully delivering complex projects and creating a happy team environment.
Interests outside work: Travel, theatre and as part of Abundance London helping create beautiful spaces in urban settings.
Top achievement to date: Competing in the 2005/06 Round the World Clipper race.
