Pensions Minister, Paul Maynard, has announced plans to engage with key stakeholders "this spring" on the government’s plans to improve trusteeship, while mandatory accreditation will be considered “as part of [its] wider trustee work”.

During his first appearance in front of the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) in January, Maynard refused to rule out plans to introduce mandatory accreditation for pension scheme trustees in the future, suggesting that this could be considered further as trustee supply improves.

WPC chair, Stephen Timms, wrote to Maynard shortly after this hearing to ask for further insight into the minister’s view on how the government could look to improve accreditation take-up, noting that evidence from the Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) raised concerns around the barriers facing lay trustees in particular.

In his response, Maynard said he is “all too aware of the vital work trustees play in ensuring members pensions are invested appropriately”, clarifying however, that responses to the call for evidence on trustee skill indicated some trustees require more support than others to meet their knowledge and understanding obligations.

In light of this, he said that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Treasury are working closely with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to take forward work in key areas, including the development of a trustee register, as previously confirmed.

He also pointed out that TPR’s new General Code of Practice, which comes into force at the end of March, includes an expectation that anyone acting as a professional trustee should be accredited.

“Mandatory accreditation requires legislative changes and is something that will be considered as part of our wider trustee work,” he added.

“We also plan to engage with key stakeholders this spring on improving trusteeship, including the barriers to increasing accreditation and how we can address them.

"This will include conversations with the AMNT, and I will ensure that my officials address the concerns the AMNT raised with you as part of these.”

In addition to the update on trusteeship, Maynard provided his thoughts on recent pensioner groups who feel decisions on discretionary increases are not always made fairly, clarifying that while this can be an “emotive issue” for many savers, there are no planned changes in this area currently.

“The trustees of schemes may already have powers to award discretionary increases to members over existing indexation, subject to scheme rules,” he stated. “Amending the rules surrounding discretionary increase is not something that we are intending to include in the upcoming consultation.

“Instead, the consultation will seek feedback on simplifying how one-off benefit increases can be made to private sector DB scheme members.

“This will allow the opportunity to share any surplus resources of the scheme between members as well as sponsoring employers.”

Indeed, the DWP just recently launched its consultation on plans designed to help make DB extraction easier, in order to ensure that the money held in DB schemes can be best unlocked in the interest of savers and for sustainable investment in the wider economy.

Maynard also provided an update on concerns as to how the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations can act as a barrier when communicating information to scheme members, stating that he “understands the concerns schemes have and are working on these issues”.

“The department is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HM Treasury, Department for Science Innovation and Technology, and the Information Commissioner’s Office on the concerns about the PECR Regulations,” he stated, confirming that he will also write to the committee to provide a full update in advance of Easter recess.

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