The Association of Member Nominated Trustees has appointed John Flynn as its new co-chair alongside Maggie Rodger, succeeding Janice Turner. Flynn warned of the rise of sole trusteeship, saying the AMNT will fight for member protections.

An accredited trustee and holder of the PMI Diploma in Pension Trusteeship, Flynn has been an AMNT committee member for several years. His appointment comes after founding co-chair Turner said she would step down this month. 

   

   

Flynn sits on both the National Gas Transmission Pension Scheme and Church of Scotland Pension Scheme, as well as being a member of the employer committee of the Scottish Housing Association Pension Scheme.

Making the case for member trustees, he said: “Member-nominated trustees are a vital safeguard for members. We are the only ones on a board whose sole focus is on member outcomes - yet the position is currently being eroded.”

However, he suggested today’s policymakers are at risk of forgetting the lessons of the past: “Government and the [Pensions] Regulator would do well to remember why the position was created in the first place, after the Maxwell scandal, when those who were supposed to be independent and acting in members interest ‘looked the other way’ as funds were plundered and lives ruined.”

He said there were a multitude of issues for MNTs to focus on, from member outcomes, fair sharing of surpluses with sponsors, to adequacy more widely.

Flynn also suggested there are problematic trends in pension fund governance: “The slide towards sole trusteeship is deeply worrying in this context, as it could take us back in some ways to the ‘bad old days’ when independence of thought and deed could not always be guaranteed”.

Sole trustees handle £75bn, according to TPR. More than half of pension schemes use a professional or sole trustee model, with professional trustees normally appointed and remunerated by the scheme sponsor. A recent survey by professional trustees Independent Governance Group found 93% of advisory firms expect continued growth in schemes choosing sole trustees this year. 
   

   

Flynn said he was pleased the regulator has listened to the AMNT's concerns and is planning to look into this issue.

“Member protection is paramount, and we as an organisation will fight to ensure that this remains front and centre in any future discussions,” he said.

TPR recently announced that it will seek to understand the reasons behind the appointment of sole trustees to schemes, and what internal controls sole trustees operate once appointed.

However, other areas of trusteeship where member representation is eroded are not under scrutiny, such as defined contribution master trusts, which have seen significant growth in recent years. The government is preparing a wide-ranging pension schemes bill but there has been no suggestion of requiring multi-employer schemes to have MNTs on their boards.