Pension Consultancy

Increased regulatory focus, automatic enrolment and the continued closure of defined benefit schemes have all contributed to the increased popularity of contract-based pension schemes. While not currently a legal requirement, good governance of your contract-based pension scheme, whether it be a Group Personal Pension Plan or a Group Stakeholder Plan, will deliver considerable benefits for you as an employer and your employees.

In simple terms, the good governance of a defined contribution pension scheme is dependent upon a number of areas:

• Robust governance processes and procedures – the ability to identify and address potential issues before they occur; thereby managing reputational risk, ensuring good employee relations and saving you time and money.
• Provision of appropriate investment options – ensuring that the investment options available to your employees are appropriate for their needs; not only at the point of implementation but also on an ongoing basis.
• Competitive charging – charges play a big part in the quality of outcomes for employees at retirement. It is therefore vitally important that the charges that employees pay are competitive and do not unduly affect pension savings growth. Competitive fees also enhance employees’ perceived value of your pension offering.
• Engaging member communications – while everyone agrees that making adequate financial provision for our retirement is extremely important, most employees do not find pensions particularly interesting. Clear, concise and targeted communications will engage your workforce, improve their contribution rates and increase the value they place upon the pension benefits you provide as an employer.

At Quantum, we believe that good governance and the achievement of good member outcomes need not cost the earth. Our experienced consultants are passionate about pensions and will take the time to understand your specific circumstances and use this to deliver high quality, relevant and cost-effective advice that will benefit you and your members.

We have extensive experience in the delivery of corporate actuarial and consulting advice, ranging from providing an expert second opinion on advice received from your incumbent advisers to innovative liability management solutions.

We take the time to understand the issues you are facing so that we can tailor our advice accordingly.

Our experience in this area covers:

• Accounting – under current accounting standards, pension scheme performance has a direct effect on company profitability, as any surplus or deficit has to appear on a company’s balance sheet. We have extensive experience in providing pension accounting calculations and advice for UK company accounts (FRS102), EU (IAS19), US (FAS87) and Canadian (CICA) parent companies. This includes the determination of the liabilities and assets, the annual cost of providing pensions and the production of draft pension disclosure notes as required.
  
  
• Buy-ins and buy-outs – we have experience in assisting trustees and employers in securing their pension scheme liabilities with an annuity insurer through the use of buy-out and buy-in policies. Click here to find out more.
  
  
• Pension increase exchange (PIE) – we have worked with a number of clients to reduce their scheme liabilities by undertaking a PIE exercise.
  
  
• Enhanced transfer values (ETV) – we have worked with a number of clients to reduce their scheme liabilities by undertaking an ETV exercise.
  
  
• Longevity Swaps – the transference of the risk of scheme members living for longer than expected through the purchase of longevity swap contracts can have a positive impact on the financial health of your scheme.
  
  
• Expert second opinion – we can review and comment upon the advice that you (as sponsoring employers) and pension scheme trustees have received from primary advisers or your incumbent. A second pair of eyes and a different perspective on matters can help identify new alternative opportunities and efficiencies.
  
  
• Liability management exercises – we have worked with a number of clients to reduce their scheme liabilities by undertaking Pension Increase Exchange and Enhanced Transfer Value exercises, delivering material reductions to scheme liabilities and by association funding obligations.

Our actuaries and consultants are expert in designing new pension schemes that reflect your objectives and constraints. We will work closely with you to ensure that our advice delivers compliant and efficient solutions to achieve your goals.

We will assess your current arrangement(s) and take time to fully understand your objectives and constraints. This will enable us to formulate our advice so that it addresses the issues you are facing, while at the same time delivering a tangible return on your investment.

We have a proven track record in this area. Our processes are tried and tested to ensure you can make any changes quickly and efficiently.

Purchase, sale and merger activity is a complex area and no more so when it comes to assessing, negotiating and agreeing upon the transfer, inheritance or retention of pension scheme liabilities. Our experience and provision of clear and relevant advice will help you navigate this complex area.

We provide specialist advice on pension scheme and employee benefit liabilities in M&A transactions, so you can assess how critical these factors are ahead of any action.

Alternative mergers and acquisitions copy for Pension Consultancy

Pension schemes and other employee benefit liabilities are an important part of any corporate transaction. We provide specialist advice in this area so you can ascertain whether the pension scheme of the company you may be looking to acquire is critical to a transaction.

Once any deal is complete, we can assist with setting up the new arrangements, the design, communication and implementation of the changes, along with any changes required to the scheme’s investment strategy. We can also work with you to ensure the pension scheme continues to run efficiently by providing ongoing management assistance.