This year we gathered at the prestigious De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. We all enjoyed renewing friendships and getting to grips with industry challenges and opportunities – including investment strategy, scheme run-on and risk transfer options.
Session 1 | Macroeconomic outlook – The search for growth
The search for growth has been a thorny issue for many recent UK governments. What are the prospects for the UK?
Keith Wade, independent economist and trustee, takes us through both demand-side and supply-side issues in the UK economy – covering key challenges such as the skills shortage, post-pandemic inactivity and gilt market performance. Despite these issues, Keith concludes that prospects for UK growth look reasonably positive.
Session 2 | Defined Benefit investment strategies – Trends, challenges and regulatory impact
Andrew Overend, Partner and Head of Investment at First Actuarial, questions the relentless push to buy gilts, at a time when equity markets are bouncing back quickly after periods of global volatility. He also discusses ESG voting trends and the likely impact of skewing investments towards the UK.
Manoj Patel, Associate Partner at First Actuarial, looks at the impact of rising UK government bond yields. Set against improved funding positions, schemes face lower asset returns, buy-out bottlenecks, covenant risks and fluctuating credit spreads. Manoj also examines the effect of the drive to low-dependency growth exposure.
Session 3 | Fit for the future? Latest learnings from the Local Government Pension Scheme
Dale Walmsley, Partner and Head of Public Service at First Actuarial, discusses the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) as a case study.
Dale takes a detailed look at recent developments in the LGPS, which is a well-funded and inflation-proof scheme. As the LGPS sets about pooling the investments of its many funds, Dale explores how this will work and asks how it will affect local accountability. He also discusses an ongoing consultation about access and fairness.
Session 4 | Professional trustee regulation and conflict management
Chris Roberts, Director of CJR Pensions Ltd (expressing his personal views) explores the scheme trusteeship landscape. We’ve seen the growth of professional trusteeships, with 10 large firms looking after 2400 schemes and £1tr of liabilities. Chris outlines the key challenges trustees face, and considers the views of The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
Chris emphasises that trusteeship is about governance and risk management and yet these very skills are often overlooked when selecting trustees. Finally, Chris presents us with a number of constructive options open to trustees at present, saying that this is a great moment to shape the next generation of Defined Benefit pension saving.
Session 5 | Unlocking surpluses – How future reforms could change the game for Defined Benefit schemes
Rohit Siqueira, Partner and Head of Trustee Actuarial at First Actuarial, tackles the highly topical issue of unlocking surpluses. Since 2022, 85% of schemes have enjoyed a surplus on a technical provisions basis, according to TPR. The Pensions Bill is to address scheme surpluses, but the Government will not mandate how they should be shared.
So how do we share surplus? As a one-off payment, or to improve intangible elements of the member experience? How would an employer use the surplus? To those schemes in a position to unlock surplus, Rohit emphasises the importance of checking member data before making potentially erroneous payments.
Session 6 | Insurers v consolidators | Choosing the right risk transfer path
The risk transfer market is well-developed, with high transaction volumes, new market entrants every year, and some capacity. In the consolidator market, the employer ends its liabilities by transferring funds to a superfund – effectively a less costly bridge to buy-out. Once a superfund section is fully funded on a buy-out basis, it passes members across to an insurer.
Declan Keohane, Partner and Head of Risk Transfer at First Actuarial, and Jonathan Hazlett, Partner and Head of Pensions at Osborne Clarke, make a point-by-point comparison of the two approaches. Alongside overviews of each market, they cover key areas such as benefits provided, residual risks and asset transfers.
Session 7 | Defined Contribution pensions today and insights shaping tomorrow’s outcomes
David Parfett, Co-Head of Employee Benefits at First Actuarial, outlines findings from First Actuarial’s recent survey of Defined Contribution (DC) pension provision. David stresses the importance of regular reviews, and reminds the audience that the ultimate success of a DC scheme lies in retirement outcomes for members.
Lee French, Co-Head of Employee Benefits at First Actuarial, points out that only a tiny minority of people can literally sail off into the sunset when they retire. Auto-enrolment has taken away pension inertia, but the underlying problem of pensions adequacy hasn’t gone away. The challenge is to help people understand that a pension offers control and choices over our future.
First Actuarial Client Conference 2025 – Gallery
The length and pace of the sessions were good. I felt engaged throughout and it was great to hear from different perspective. I liked the Slido interaction. It was also good to have several opportunities to meet people. The venue was stunning and the whole event felt like it ran very smoothly from a delegate point of view.