Pension schemes are ongoing and sustaining the people who run them requires constant renewal. Across all corners of the industry, there is growing pressure around recruitment, training and succession. As experienced professionals retire and regulatory complexity increases, schemes must strengthen their workforce at every level.

This session explores how schemes can build long-term capability with a strong talent pipeline. It will examine the practical steps needed to position pensions as an exciting and rewarding career opportunity and the training that’s becoming crucial to keep-up with changing regulations and legislation. With particular focus on engaging younger professionals, the discussion will consider how the industry can broaden its appeal, bring in fresh perspectives and secure its future leadership.

This session will address:

• Attracting new entrants into the industry
• Methods of positioning and ‘rebranding’ pensions as a exciting, rewarding and impactful career path for younger generation
• Encouraging individuals to step into trusteeship
• Recruiting young professional (e.g. pension graduate jobs)
• Training for increasing regulatory and legislative complexity
• Retaining talent in a competitive market

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 trustee world is shifting. We have seen a rise in professional trustees and corporate sole trustees, which comes together with the raising expectations of government and regulatory bodies around capability, conflicts and governance standards. The demand for experts to navigate these growing industry complexities is also on the rise, with sponsors increasingly seeking trustees who can move quickly, understand corporate strategy and engage confidently on investment and funding decisions.

This session will explore where the future of trusteeship lies, whether we are heading towards one of full professionalisation, or perhaps a more balanced model that can preserve independence and diverse, meaningful representation – and what does that look like.

This session will address:

• The outcomes of the DWP’s consultation on trusteeship, governance and administration and its implications for trusteeship and professional trusteeship
• The rise in professional trusteeship, unpacking the sponsor demand for trustee capability
• Corporate sole trustees, and their role for the future of trusteeship
• Long-term outlook for trusteeship

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

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