AI adoption is rapidly accelerating across pensions administration, and schemes are faced with a growing range of possibilities and promises, yet there is still limited clarity on where it genuinely adds value.

This session focuses on thoughtfully applied AI. Drawing on real examples from administration and due diligence, it explores where AI is already delivering tangible benefits, where automation makes sense, and where human judgement must remain central. The discussion moves beyond experimentation to help schemes understand how to deploy AI responsibly without undermining member trust or governance standards.

This session will address:

• Where AI delivers clear, practical value in pensions administration
• Identifying standard, defensible AI use cases for schemes
• Examples of AI being used in practice and how they are proving value (e.g. due diligence, benefit specifications and data analysis)
• How to thoughtfully apply technology, while maintaining member trust and human judgment
  

With schemes in both the private and public sector facing growing pressure and scrutiny with Pensions Dashboards connection window firmly underway and an ever-increasingly buoyant Buy-Out Market, the ability to sustain and maintain accurate data is becoming a defining factor in operational excellence. Target and the Pension Protection Fund's partnership, which has spanned over a decade, demonstrates how moving from reactive periodic cleansing to continuous data maintenance can transform outcomes and cost-savings. From preventing significant data decay to strengthening member trust and readiness for future endgame opportunities, this session explores what the "99% process" really looks like, and why reliable, maintained data is becoming the foundation of proactive pension administration.

This session will address:

• The 99% Process
• Risk, Resilience & Readiness for Future Demands
• Member Protection & Confidence 

Digitalisation is exposing the pensions industry to new cyber threats and cyber resilience is non-negotiable. In this session, we’ll unpack the various forms these threats take and look at how to build genuine cyber resilience across trustees, administrators and third parties. But it doesn’t stop at cyber resilience. It is apparent that as an industry we need to be prepared for the worst case-scenario, therefore, we’ll be outlining what good crisis management and communication looks like following a cyber security breach.

This session will address:

• New threats facing the industry: ransomware attacks, targeted phishing, deep fake and supply-chain vulnerabilities
• How to build genuine cyber resilience across trustees, administrators and third parties
• Practical insights into running war games and simulations to detect and contain cyber risks
• What good crisis management and communication looks like following a cyber security breach

The backbone of the industry is the people that comprise it. With administration facing a capacity crunch the importance to invest in it and redefine it as a professional career has never been greater.

In this session we will explore initiatives to recruit, train and retain skilled administrators, the potential to offshore administration functions and the balance of automation and human judgment. Ultimately, questioning whether pensions could ever become fully digital.

This session will address:

• How to recruit, train and retain skilled administrators amid an ageing workforce and rising demands
• Whether offshoring can be a sustainable answer to resource pressures
• Redefining pensions admin as a professional career path, not a stopgap
• Understanding the balance of automation with human judgement, and looking at whether pensions could ever become fully digital

The pensions landscape is undergoing extensive change and amidst such transformation the constant remains the importance of good governance. With the array of different schemes now in operation governance issues and necessities vary depending on the size, type and goals of the scheme.

This panel will address how governance is evolving to deliver the best outcomes for savers, exploring the growing knowledge and skills required to navigate changes. It will discuss the outcome of the DWP consultation on trusteeship and governance, and drawing on years of professional experience will examine what works well in current governance and where there are still barriers and room for change.

This session will address:

• How governance varies based on scheme size, type and goals
• The DWP consultation on Trusteeship and Governance
• The skills and understanding for strong governance that are evolving with the industry changes
• What works well in current governance systems, where do barriers still exist and what can change
• Looking beyond to 2030 and the future of governance