How can the member voice be heard?
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Pardon the Interruption
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An upcoming consultation on trusteeship will ask about member voice as scheme members have become increasingly marginalised in the decision making processes of pension funds. It does not need to be this way: one open defined benefit scheme has been fostering member interaction and using this to help with strategic decisions.
Thirty years after the government legislated for member trustees in response to the Maxwell scandal, they are now a threatened species. Defined contribution master trusts are exempt from the requirement, while defined benefit schemes are transferring to insurers or opt for sole trusteeship.
As government and the finance industry make plans for how to use members’ money while outcomes are set to be inadequate for many for some time to come, there is a growing risk that members will feel alienated – particularly if a market downturn puts a dent into what has been saved – and could lose trust in pensions.
The pensions minister perhaps had this in mind when he hinted that perhaps the member voice ought to be strengthened. An imminent consultation on trusteeship will ask for view on this, he told an audience at the Pensions UK Annual Conference 2025.
Listening to members is possible
One scheme that has strong member engagement and representation – with its membership being unionised – is the Railways Pension Scheme. Its board of 16 trustees consists of eight employer and eight employee-nominated directors, including finance professionals and actuaries as well as signal engineers.
The focus on members does not stop there, however. Railpen has a panel of just under 1,000 active, deferred and pensioner members that help it with feedback on its communications material, for example.
It also conducts an annual sustainable ownership survey that tests members’ comfort levels with different types of asset classes, something many funds would shy away from for fear of only hearing from the most vocal people.
Railpen’s director of client and corporate affairs, Jonathan Clark, says member engagement can help with decision making: “What I've seen over recent years is more and more how we are collecting and baking the sort of member voice into some of our strategic decisions.”
As well as its large focus group and member surveys, Railpen benchmarks its administration services every year with the Institute of Customer Services, something that is more likely to be seen in the retail or insurance sector than in pensions.
“We've done that for over 10 years, so we've seen the trend data, which is fantastic,” said Clark.
The rail industry is a close-knit community, he added, which means members are happy to tell the scheme how it can improve things.
The focus on members does not stop there, however. Railpen has a panel of just under 1,000 active, deferred and pensioner members that help it with feedback on its communications material, for example.
It also conducts an annual sustainable ownership survey that tests members’ comfort levels with different types of asset classes, something many funds would shy away from for fear of only hearing from the most vocal people.
Railpen’s director of client and corporate affairs, Jonathan Clark, says member engagement can help with decision making: “What I've seen over recent years is more and more how we are collecting and baking the sort of member voice into some of our strategic decisions.”
As well as its large focus group and member surveys, Railpen benchmarks its administration services every year with the Institute of Customer Services, something that is more likely to be seen in the retail or insurance sector than in pensions.
“We've done that for over 10 years, so we've seen the trend data, which is fantastic,” said Clark.
The rail industry is a close-knit community, he added, which means members are happy to tell the scheme how it can improve things.
Clark compared Railpen’s member engagement with that of Canada’s Maple 8 funds, which he argued foster a similar sense of community and connection with members.
“I think also there is a sense of pride in what they do in terms of especially the domestic investments. They invest in Canada for Canadians and they're very proud of that. And we are more and more sharing with our members what we are doing in the UK and they're really proud of it,” he said.
“I think also there is a sense of pride in what they do in terms of especially the domestic investments. They invest in Canada for Canadians and they're very proud of that. And we are more and more sharing with our members what we are doing in the UK and they're really proud of it,” he said.
