The pensions industry is a busy place. It never stands still. Every day brings new challenges, new regulations, new guidance, new initiatives, and new expectations. With so many trees, is it even possible to still see the wood?

After a particularly busy patch, a conversation with my seven-year-old offered me some welcome perspective.

She asked: “What do you do?”

I couldn’t just say “I’m a pensions lawyer” (most grown-ups don’t know what that is). So I thought carefully about how to answer…

Me: You know when we go to the beach with Grandad, he always buys the ice creams.

Her: Yes

Me: But Grandad doesn’t have a job anymore.

Her: No, so how does he pay for them?

Me: Well, while Grandad was working, his boss put money away ready for when Grandad was ready to stop working. Now grandad gets some of that money every month so he can pay for the things he needs. And buy you ice creams.

Her: Ok. But what do you do?

Me: There are people who’ve been looking after the money Grandad’s boss put away for a really long time. Now they have to make sure they give Grandad the right amount each month. These people are called trustees. That’s what they are called because Grandad has to trust them to look after his money and to give him the right amount.

And it’s not just Grandad. They do this for lots of people. This means they are looking after a lot of money (more than you can possibly imagine) and making a lot of payments.

It’s a difficult job. But it’s important, so there are lots of rules about how to do it.

Because it’s so difficult, the trustees need the help of lots of experts–

• experts in working out how much money to put away to make sure they have enough (we call them actuaries)
• experts in how much the boss can afford to pay (we call them covenant advisers)
• experts in how to keep the money safe and use it to try to make more money - so they don’t have to ask the boss for so much (we call them investment advisers)
• experts in keeping track of everyone’s information and making the right payments (we call them administrators)
• experts in talking to people about how to prepare to stop work and plan for how to use their money when they do (we call them communications consultants)
• experts in what all the rules are and how to follow them (we call them pensions lawyers)

I am a pensions lawyer. I help the trustees follow the rules.

So together with the trustees, the bosses and all the other experts, I help to make sure that people like Grandad have enough money to pay for things (like ice creams) once they’ve stopped working.

Her: That is REALLY important.

Me: Yes. It is.

Pensions. It’s not easy. But it is important.

Let’s not forget why we are here.

Share Story: