The Association of Professional Pension Trustees’ (APPT) professional trustees accreditation scheme has “worked well” and would remain “fit for purpose” if the accreditation of professional trustees was to be made mandatory in future, according to the APPT Council.

The APPT Council has published a paper reviewing the current accreditation scheme ahead of HM Treasury’s (HMT) and the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) responses to a call for evidence in the trustee skills, capability and culture consultation, in which the idea of a compulsory accreditation for professional trustees was mooted.

APPT’s accreditation scheme was launched in 2020 and followed the defining of Standards for Professional Trustees of Occupational Pensions in 2019. Under the scheme, approved trustees are expected to adhere to a “rigorous professional standards code.”

Applicants must meet a range of requirements, including the completion of the The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) Trustee Toolkit and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, as well as carry out minimum Conditional Professional Development (CPD) training hours. All applications are checked by three reviewers.

In its paper, the APPT Council concluded that, “within the current regulatory environment, the professional trustees’ accreditation scheme has worked well. In most respects, the council believes it is pitched at an appropriate level and would remain fit for purpose were a decision taken at some time in the future to make the accreditation of professional trustees’ mandatory – an idea floated in the evidence call".

Following up on its review paper, the APPT Council said it should “make further representations" to the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) to review and update the syllabus and questions in the Certificate in Pension Trusteeship examinations, and consider the merits of examination requirements to become an accredited professional trustee remaining at Level 3 (A-level standard), “at least for those without other relevant professional qualifications or extensive relevant experience".

On publishing the paper, APPT Chair, Harus Rai said: “The paper explains that the APPT Council had originally proposed to consult on its findings, but in view of the DWP/HMT call for evidence we concluded it was more valuable to publish the report at this point.”

Rai added: “APPT will engage with DWP, HMT, TPR and members through the call for evidence process and follow-up.

"Once those bodies have considered the position and made their intentions clear, the council will consider whether further changes beyond those we recommend in the paper are merited.”

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