The Association of Consulting Actuaries has elected Chintan Gandhi to succeed Stewart Hastie as chair. Gandhi has set out the ACA’s focus areas over the next two years, which are to lobby for greater defined contribution adequacy, using surplus for workers, collective DC, "less politicised" state pension and social care systems, as well as a stable tax regime.

Gandhi is a partner and head of collective defined contribution at consulting firm Aon. The association re-elected Debbie Webb, senior consultant at WTW, as honorary treasurer, and made Barnett Waddingham’s head of risk transfer Richard Gibson the honorary secretary.  

The newly elected committee members are James Allinson, head of corporate consulting at EY, Jill Ampleford, head of trustee consulting at LCP, James Beardmore at Hughes Price Walker, Karen Johansson-Hartley, senior consultant at XPS, Broadstone chief actuary David Hamilton. Vishal Makkar, principal and senior consulting actuary at Gallagher, Laura McLaren, partner at Hymans Robertson, PwC partner Saye Mkangama, Graham Newman, chief actuary at Spence & Partners, Laureen O’Kane, principal at Mercer, and Jonathan Isted at Capita. 

Gandhi said that while “big challenges face the savers of today and the future”, there are also big opportunities to build a system that provides adequate and fair pensions while supporting the economy and fostering trust and engagement. 

“In an increasingly uncertain world, actuaries and consulting firms can – and must – continue to make a significant contribution to help policymakers, employers, trustees and providers navigate difficult trade‑off and keep the focus firmly on outcomes for the millions of people who rely on us for a pension,” he said. 

During his two-year term, Gandhi wants the ACA to support the pensions industry in making progress towards a system in which “engagement with pensions begins to become a natural part of working life rather than a source of anxiety”.  

“If, as an industry, we can move meaningfully in that direction – across DB, DC and CDC – we will have used this pivotal period well,” he said.  

One of the key areas the ACA will focus on over the next two years is DC adequacy, underpensioned groups and financial wellbeing, with Gandhi saying too many are falling through the pensions net. The association plans to contribute to the next phase of the Pensions Commission’s work, which will produce recommendations next year, suggesting higher contributions are needed. 

“The ACA continues to believe there is a compelling case for phased, well‑signalled changes to automatic enrolment so that minimum contributions are gradually increased, contributions apply from the first pound of earnings, the minimum age threshold is reduced – reflecting the changing workforce including growth in apprenticeships – and a practical route is developed to bring the self‑employed into inertia‑based saving,” he said.  

How to use DB surpluses and endgames to support workers will be a second focus area, with the ACA keen to help create the incoming regime for surplus release. Gandhi stressed that the association sees value in reducing barriers to use surplus for DC or CDC schemes, saying this could be used to benefit current workers.

“Done well, this can link the success of legacy DB with stronger saving and better outcomes in DC and CDC,” he argued. 

Employers who currently make use of DB surplus for DC contributions do so primarily to aid company cash flow, with DC members seeing no change. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ACA will continue to back CDC under Gandhi, including multi-employer and retirement CDC.

“By pooling over long horizons, with the aim – but not a guarantee – to increase pensions, CDC can support higher long‑term investment in productive, responsible and sustainable assets such as private markets, infrastructure and other illiquids,” he said. 

DC schemes will have to provide default retirement options under measures in the Pension Schemes Act 2026. The ACA plans to work with policymakers, regulators and providers to shape this in a way that will allow retirement CDC to be available before “or at least alongside” guided retirement when it is rolled out.

With pensions part of a wider framework of old-age provision, Gandhi added that the ACA will continue to argue for stability in the pensions tax regime, “so long‑term decisions are not undermined by frequent change”. 

The association will also lobby for “a fair, sustainable and less‑politicised state pension system, with clarity on what people can reasonably expect over their lifetimes” and a social care system that “works in lockstep with pensions, so that people can plan realistically for later‑life risks without being penalised for saving”, he said.