It has, of course, become the new normal to talk about the new normal! But there have been so many changes affecting Defined Benefit (DB) pensions that grouping these by broad themes could be a worthwhile exercise.
Trustees: be ready to protect schemes from corporate distress
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the world economy faces a long, slow recovery from COVID-19 and it seems likely that some UK employers will start to struggle.
What’s that noise? Just another norm being shattered.
Unless you’ve been living in the proverbial cave for the last twelve months, it’s likely that your world has been turned upside down. The normal way of going about our business and private lives has had to change.
The introduction of lockdown in March was a period of confusion and disruption in workplaces throughout the country. This was as true for us at PMI as it was for other organisations. There was a rushed period of collecting personal effects and hurried farewells before leaving our familiar and well-loved premises in Tower 42 for what we initially supposed would be a period of a few weeks. Apart from significantly underestimating the length of time that we were to be absent, we gave little thought to the extent to which a temporary emergency would result in permanent change.
With a year since the first official reporting of a COVID-19 case, we have almost arrived at a global paralysis of regular education and training provision. This unprecedented situation affected all learning at all levels. Basic and secondary education, initial and continuing training, and work-based learning all came to a stop as we knew them. It upturned course schedules and attendance, disrupted teaching and learning, frustrated examinations and assessments, delayed certification, and will affect the immediate and future careers of millions of learners.
The PMI’s DC Master Trust Group was established to help overcome barriers to offering a good service to members. As part of bringing the group together, the decision was made to include not just Master Trust providers but representatives to the supply chain. The delivery of good services requires many different components to work together in harmony. Without bringing together the component parts, we would not be able to work towards overcoming the barriers.
