Endgame Solutions
Expert Planning For Your
Endgame Journey
For mature DB schemes, there have never been more options to choose from. To deliver a successful endgame solution for your pension scheme, we bring together the pension trustee perspective and responsibilities with independent project management and procurement teams. Whichever route you choose we can support you in integrating new governance frameworks.
Choosing Your Endgame Route
Whether you are looking to run-on with an aim to buyout in the future, invest to make the best use of surplus, consider consolidator options, or get your scheme ready for buy-in, we can help the employer and trustee board assess what works best for you and your membership.
Endgame solutions are often complex and challenging projects, and by their very nature, not something that is repeated by many trustee boards.
There are many considerations when deciding the best strategy to secure members’ benefits, and our understanding of the intricacies involved in the buyout journey can help to guide you through the process.
Endgame Solutions We're Working On Now
Our Top Tips
• Agree definition of “small” scheme as this can vary for different risk brokers and insurers.
• Work with a risk broker who understands the market for sub £30m schemes.
• If a scheme is under £10m, we have found they will most likely need to go exclusive.
• Streamlined services where you don’t need a broker may be helpful.
• Clean your data (until it sparkles) and make sure there are no “skeletons in the closest”.
• If you haven’t already, make sure you are legally watertight on closing your Barber Window and any cessation of accrual.
Our Top Tips
• Be prepared to challenge the broker or adviser who says that GMP equalisation/rectification can wait until the buy-in to buyout window.
• Understand impact on your member service levels – you’ve added the insurer into the mix so work will be needed on SLAs.
• Insurer resources are under pressure, have in place good oversight of the administrator and insurer liaison.
• Maintain momentum, otherwise there is a risk that the project will drift and budgets will overrun.
• Use of surplus and employer indemnities are best dealt with in the pre buy-in phase rather than after.
Our Top Tips
• These exercises may be beneficial for bigger schemes (£100m+) to identify key budget and timescale considerations.
• Don’t assume the risk transfer should always be run by an existing adviser.
• Benchmarking fees is helpful, understanding scope is essential.
• At the smaller end, efficiencies with using a smaller number of advisers can be a better option.
Our Top Tips
• For smaller schemes where you are going exclusive, the key criteria will be price, price and price.
• Acceptability and brand awareness of the insurer could be helpful.
• Insurer strength is often mentioned, but it is highly likely that any insurer will have a stronger ‘covenant’ than the employer.
• Note that solvency coverage ratio is not the only measure of insurer strength as the effectiveness of their risk management procedures may be equally as important.
• Administration capability and resource – understand impact on member experience in the buy-in to buyout window as there can be marked differences in SLAs.
• Understand what your members are going to get once the administration has transferred.
Your Endgame Solutions Specialist Team
Whether as chair, co-trustee or sole trustee, we can help you to navigate a safe passage. All of our professional trustees have experience in working closely with employers and advisers to deliver successful endgame solutions.
Our team can also call on specialists who have been involved in all aspects of endgame planning for over 25 years. They bring additional experience to support you with positioning for buy-in, understanding your ESG and member experience objectives, decisions on DC benefits, understanding the use of surplus and designing run-on investment strategies and governance frameworks.
Get Started With Our Endgame Solutions
Here at Pi Partnership, we understand the complex issues that pension schemes face when considering endgame solutions.
When you work with us, you can be confident you’re receiving endgame solutions that are insightful, clear and effective for your specific circumstance.
Contact us today to discover how we can support your journey.
