New whole-of-life collective defined contribution provider Arboreum Pensions has been launched, backed by food manufacturer Vestey Holdings and service retailer Timpson. 

The two family-owned businesses have each taken a stake in Collective Pensions, which owns Arboreum, “because they believe a CDC pension scheme could offer a better way to save for retirement, and they want to help build one”.

Adrian Boulding is the managing director of the multi-employer CDC provider, with Hymans Robertson partners Jon Hatchett and Paul Waters also involved in the creation of Arboreum.  

Arboreum noted that in time there will be an independent trustee board. Along with Boulding, Ben Fowler, the managing director of Collective Pensions, is the other company director of Arboreum, which was set up as Vesta Pensions in June 2025. 

Arboreum is advised on scheme governance and trustee board arrangements by Lauren Ireland of Ideal Governance. It also uses actuaries Hymans Robertson and law firm CMS. 

The executive team includes chief financial officer Fabian Uhlig, Matt Ashton-Smith as chief operating officer and project manager Nikolai Gerasimov. 

“The multi-employer CDC regime is new enough that many of the questions we face have no settled answer. Much of my work involves forming a defensible position on an unresolved point of regulation or scheme design, testing it with counsel, actuaries, and the regulator, and then building it into the scheme,” said Gerasimov on his LinkedIn page. “That work spans regulatory strategy, governance and trustee arrangements, benefit design, and capital structure. It also covers the scheme's investment approach: what can be spent on investment management within the charge cap, how that shapes the choice between passive and active strategies, and how the approach should develop over the life of the scheme.” 

The new entity said it is designed for employers who “think in generations, rather than quarters”. It aims to provide regular pension increases, starting with 3%, saying that “in most years the scheme will declare an increase to pensions quite similar to the previous year's increase”, while in exceptionally good years, there could be a one-off increase that is higher. 

“In exceptionally bad times pensions may be reduced to bring the scheme's assets and liabilities back into balance,” it added. “Our scheme will start with an expected increase rate of 3% p.a., which is higher than our long-term inflation expectation. This starting rate is a target, not a guarantee.” If a member dies, a pension continues for an eligible dependant.

To achieve this, the scheme will “choose long-term investments that will grow as the economy grows”.  

Regulations permitting CDC schemes for unconnected employers came into force on 31 July, with applications for authorisation starting in August. A revised CDC code of practice was also laid in parliament in April this year, expected to come into force in mid-October. The Pensions Regulator said at the time it was in discussion with several possible market entrants. Multi-employer CDC schemes could be operational in early 2027.