‘Pensions Governance’ seems to be the buzzword of the moment; Schemes are rapidly changing the way they operate, looking to the future and planning for what might happen.

In continuing to improve standards in governance, it seems decision making is next in the firing line as Trustees are to be made more accountable.

Feedback from some of the best run and largest schemes in the UK regarding the recent Code of Practice on Internal Controls is that it is extremely vague. Alister Esam, CEO of eShare, asks whether we need to provide smaller schemes with better tools if we are to expect them to implement the Code with their more limited resources.

eShare have recently performed a survey of trustees to find out how they are coping with the new regulatory regime. The survey focuses specifically on the new responsibilities that trustees are taking on and how they are handling the burden. It is clear that The Pensions Regulator wants to see significant change in the way trustees operate, but this is a fast process and is it fair to expect trustees to change this quickly?