The issue of who sits on a trustee board has been at the fore of pensions discussions again ahead of the expected FCA guidance on professional trustees. But perhaps one of the most often talked about issues for trustee boards is not just skill and expertise of the individuals, but the makeup of the board from a diversity perspective.

It’s not a new issue, in fact the regulator already recommends trustee boards be “diverse and well balanced” in order to deliver good governance. But diversity for its own sake is no help, and the crux of diversity, for me, should be better representation.

Trustee boards and their members often have very little in common, so it’s perhaps no surprise that recent research from PensionBee revealed a growing gap between savers wants and the products available to them. But as members do begin to engage with their pension, and the landmark vegan court case recently showed that there is an increasing amount of this (especially around investments), true representation is more important than ever.

After all, a member who doesn’t feel represented simply won’t trust their scheme to have their interests at heart, especially when core values and priorities could vary significantly. Losing member trust because of a lack of diversity on trustee boards would be disappointing when the industry has been making such strides to better engage and resonate with savers.

Whilst member nominated trustees (MNT) have historically played a role in providing the member view, increasing standards of trusteeship and the threat of criminal sanctions have made it a harder role to advertise. But with high profile cases showing members genuinely engaging with where their pension is invested, and subsequently encouraging more members to do the same, now could be the time for a real change.

In an increasingly politicised and divided world, diversity will become increasingly important across a number of industries. If we are able to engage savers with their pension, then it seems likely that more members will become passionate and be more likely to put themselves forward for MNT roles.

Alternatively, improvements in technology could also help trustee boards to engage with members directly, collecting a more representative group of views through member surveys, for example.

Diversity doesn’t have to be found in the make up of the trustee board alone, and just listening to a more diverse selection of members could help schemes close the gap between member wants, and product options.

Ensuring members feel represented and safe in their pension is the only way to get people to actively save more into their pension. Not because auto-enrolment forced them to, but because they actually want to.

Trustees have members best interests at heart, we just need to make sure that a full, diverse selection of interests are being heard.

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