This year we returned to De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London, an attractive and convenient venue which garnered positive feedback from last year’s audience. An impressive number of delegates battled through heatwave conditions to share insights into the latest developments in pensions, investments and employee benefits.
Session 1 | Higher for longer? Rethinking pension strategy in today’s macro environment
AI has put investment markets in overdrive. How big is the bubble, and does it justify today’s extravagant valuations?
Alex Dryden, independent economist, argues that today’s investment bubble exceeds anything in financial history. It’s hard to judge whether AI justifies the hype. The IPOs we are seeing are serious loss-makers. How will they ever make a profit? Alex makes a number of recommendations on how to protect portfolios in the face of this risk.
Session 2 | Insights from the Stagecoach “sponsor swap” deal
Through the Stagecoach sponsor swap deal, the sponsoring employer was replaced by Aberdeen Group. John Hamilton, Stagecoach Group Pension Scheme, explains how the scheme was able to run-on and share surplus assets with members as a result.
For fully funded schemes, risk levels between insurer and run-on are similar, yet insurers take the profits. John also points to concentration risks in handing over the Defined Benefit universe to a small number of insurers.
John urges the audience to think differently. The de-risk ethos of the past two decades has hampered growth, he argues. But we need to foster growth in order to fulfill our pension responsibilities into the future.
Further reading:
The Pensions Regulator | New Defined Benefit surplus flexibilities
Session 3 | Grappling with the gender pension gap
The gender pensions gap is running at 48%, compared to a gender pay gap of around 12%.
Sarah Abraham and Catherine Lockyer, First Actuarial, argue that the pensions gender gap really matters. With so many women taking part-time and low-paid roles to make their lives work, there’s no doubt that pensions adequacy has a gender dimension.
Catherine suggests that financial education could improve awareness of pensions adequacy, by removing the fear of pensions, treating pensions as an integral part of personal finance, and making it easier for people to make changes to their pensions.
Further reading:
Department for Work and Pensions | Pensions 2050 – interim report
Session 4 | The DB funding code in practice: Trustee and employer perspectives
Emily Brown and John Ingoe, First Actuarial, deliver an update on the Defined Benefit (DB) funding code in practice.
Following the dramatic funding changes since 2022, most schemes are now fully funded on a low-dependency basis, which makes compliance with the DB funding code easier. 80% of DB schemes have opted for Fast Track funding code compliance.
Emily and John’s session includes a number of tips for trustees and employers, touching on areas such as employer engagement, treatment of expenses, covenant assessment and why schemes should not automatically opt for Fast Track.
Session 5 | From saving to spending: Making Defined Contribution work in retirement
With 22m participants, auto-enrolment is a great success, says Lee French, First Actuarial. But levels of understanding and engagement are poor. A much-needed increase in the minimum contribution has failed to materialise.
Lee and David Parfett, First Actuarial, agree that the agenda has shifted to the concept of guided retirement in an attempt to resolve the pensions adequacy challenges that auto-enrolment highlights. Such problems are likely to come to a head with the oncoming cohort of retirees, with its unique combination of Defined Benefit pension and Defined Contribution (DC) savings.
James Gardner, First Actuarial, concludes the session by drilling down into DC retirement options. Using a range of case studies, he models a range of investment strategies and lifestyle options for diverse personal circumstances.
Session 6 | DB surplus: How and when should members benefit?
As scheme surpluses move into the spotlight, how and when should members benefit? This session, chaired by Kate Hulme-Vickerstaff, First Actuarial, explores a mix of approaches and solutions to showcase the degree of flexibility available.
Craig Moran, First Actuarial, outlines the three main changes that a DWP consultation may introduce as early as 2027. He emphasises the rigorous process proposed and the fact that trustees will remain in the driving seat on surplus decision-making.
Steve Collins, TPT, gives an overview of the TPT superfund, explaining that TPT’s approach aligns with its profit-for-purpose status. Its superfund design allows for surplus-sharing initially as additional pension benefit. TPT will then look at the feasibility of adding lump-sum payments.
Rosie Fantom, M&G, outlines two M&G products. Bulk Annuity Plus offers a competitively priced regular bulk annuity which can share gains with members as an annual bonus, over and above members’ guaranteed benefits. The second product is more complex, aimed at larger schemes, and can channel profit to the scheme, the sponsor or members directly.
Session 7 | Investing to reach your long-term target
Although there’s clearly a lot of innovation in the surplus space, many schemes simply want to get to buy-out as quickly as possible. It’s a target that’s increasingly within reach. The average buy-out funding position increased from 74% to 96% between 2021 and 2025, according to data from the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF).
In this session, Andrew Overend and Jenny Mahtani, First Actuarial, draw on their investment expertise to discuss how a well-funded scheme can continue to achieve growth in a risk-controlled manner, for either buy-out or run-on over a longer period. They explore the different components of the investment strategy and what might go wrong.
I loved the friendly, personable people and relaxed atmosphere. Good venue; good food; relevant updates. The keynote speaker was very engaging. Nice wine!
Excellent agenda. Great to see the high attendance, despite the heatwave. It shows the value of what you offered. Excellent opening presentation – having dual presenters worked really well.
Comprehensive updates for both Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution schemes and a good choice of external speakers. Great venue.
First Actuarial Client Conference 2026 – Gallery
