Bulletin Board
OPDU Annual Meeting held at Freshfields– 15 January 2009

The OPDU Annual Meeting is always very well attended and this year’s attendance of over 180 was no exception. It was once again hosted by Freshfields and was the first meeting for the new Chairman of OPDU’s Advisory Council, Peter Murray (ex Railpen Chief executive and past Chairman of the Chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds NAPF). The keynote addresses were given by David Norgrove, Chair of the Pensions Regulator and Chris Hitchen, (NAPF). The theme was Pensions, Trustees and the Economy.

David Norgrove paid particular tribute to the work of OPDU in protecting and educating trustees of occupational pension schemes.

An audience, including many luminaries from the pensions world heard David Norgrove say that the Regulator was encouraged by the progress that had been made in recent years with the funding and governance of pension schemes. Companies, trustees and the industry were now far better placed to meet the current challenging economic conditions. He emphasised the importance of trustees assessing the company’s covenant and of flexibility, likening the role of the Regulator to that of a marriage guidance counsellor when companies and trustees failed to reach agreement on scheme funding.

The importance of defined contribution schemes was highlighted, with these schemes increasingly the mainstay of current pension provision in the private sector. The Regulator planned further guidance and support on areas of risk and encouraged everyone involved to give defined contribution schemes increasing attention.

Peter Murray, Chairman had opened the Meeting by outlining the work OPDU had undertaken in the last twelve months, including improvements to the cover to ensure it continued to offer the best level of protection available. OPDU had also been involved with initiatives to improve standards of pension scheme administration and trustee education, as well as offering an advisory service and publishing two editions of the OPDU report. These contained a wide selection of articles aimed at supporting those responsible for running occupational pension schemes. OPDU’s membership continued to grow with more than 400 schemes and around one-sixth of the assets of UK pension schemes.

Finally, Chris Hitchen, (NAPF) echoed David Norgrove’s plaudits for OPDU based on his experience as Chief Executive of Railpen, an OPDU member. He highlighted the proposed Pension Quality Mark that the NAPF was launching in 2009 aimed at identifying high quality pension schemes. Recognising the current challenges, he asked the Government to allow more flexibility, keep financial regulation proportionate and consider issuing more longer term appropriate investments which could meet the needs of both government and pension schemes.