Many schemes are now in surplus, and with upcoming legislative changes making surplus release possible for all schemes on an ongoing basis, we explore the key issues to consider when considering how surplus could be used both now and the future to benefit both members and sponsors.

This session will help you with understanding:

• Strategic considerations for a run-on and use of surplus strategy
• Important aspects of a surplus sharing agreement
• Current views and beliefs of trustees and sponsors
• Practical tips

At its heart, the pensions industry is about stewardship, fairness and the promise that a lifetime of work should lead to security in later life.

And yet we know outcomes are not equal. Gender pension gaps persist, with ethnicity and disability gaps less visible, but just as real. These differences have not appeared overnight, they reflect patterns in pay, careers, caring responsibilities and engagement over decades.

This session takes a step back to reconnect with purpose. It will explore how these gaps have formed, the progress already underway, and the tangible steps schemes and sponsors can take to accelerate change. Because pensions do not just manage money, they shape futures. And progress is something this industry can deliver together.

This session will address: 

• How pension gaps develop over time
• Ethnicity and disability gaps
• Progress already made across schemes and employers
• Targeted engagement for different member groups
• Interventions that are already showing progress
• Role of trustees in driving change
• What collective industry progress could look like

With diverse cohorts of members and accelerating industry change, now more than ever schemes need to adopt new innovative communication strategies. Members need to stay informed about what’s happening to their scheme, whether it’s going to buy-out, running-on or exploring CDC. However, in today’s digital era each member consumes and understands information differently and scheme communication must evolve to reflect this reality.

This session looks at a modernised, insight-driven approach to communication, placing members at the heart of the solution. It will explore the use of data for personalised, targeted communication, understanding how leveraging the right solutions alleviates pressure off administration and mitigates members going to misleading sources. We’ll look at case studies that set the new standard of good communication, discussing what’s been done, how it’s been done and how you can do it too.

This session will address:

• The need to modernise and innovate member communications – what’s pushing that change
• Behavioural, data-led communication tailored to different member cohorts
• Supporting members and reducing administration pressure through digital first communication
• Case studies that set a new standard for member communication

The UK is on the brink of a fundamental shift, from a pensions system built around saving to one defined by decades of retirement income. As pensions dashboards bring unprecedented visibility, consolidation creates scale, and new forms of targeted support emerge for the non‑advised majority, the critical question becomes: who will own the retirement relationship in the future?

This forward‑looking session explores how savers may experience pensions 20 years from now, and where power, trust and value will sit in a fully‑fledged decumulation market. Will pension schemes retain control, or will banks, fintech platforms and employers become the primary “front door” for retirement decisions? And what must today’s providers, schemes and advisers build now to avoid being disintermediated? Drawing on international models and emerging UK reforms, this session will challenge assumptions about advice, defaults and engagement, and set out what winning in the next phase of pensions could really look like.

This session will address:

• How pensions dashboards and consolidation could fundamentally reshape saver behaviour and expectations
• Where financial advice, targeted support and self‑directed decision‑making are most likely to sit in future
• Who is best placed to own the retirement relationship - schemes, banks, fintech platforms or employers
• What the UK can learn from international approaches to delivering retirement income at scale
• Who the likely winners, and losers, will be as the pensions market moves decisively into decumulation

This session will give attendees an overview of what to expect when the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard launches, including how it will enhance user experience, transparency and engagement. We’ll demonstrate how the dashboard works in practice, explore international examples of success, and discuss why the UK’s journey is unique. The session will also outline the key steps pension schemes and providers should take to prepare for pensions dashboards.

This session will address:

• What to expect once the Money Helper Pensions Dashboard launches
• How the dashboard works in practice
• Global examples of dashboards success and why the UK’s journey is different
• Private sector dashboards
• What you can be doing to prepare for pensions dashboards