The essence of 21st Century Trusteeship, maintain your knowledge

I received an e-mail recently from The Pensions Regulator reminding me, as a professional trustee, how important it is to be able to demonstrate my expertise, knowledge and skills to perform the role regardless of scheme size. This is the essence of 21st Century Trusteeship and exactly why we support the work of the APPT in producing a professional code for Professional Pension Trustees.

The e-mail went on to encourage me to emphasise the importance of any lay trustees maintaining their knowledge and understanding of both their own scheme and the wider industry. It is the obligation of all trustees to ensure that the interests of members of their schemes are properly looked after.

To do this they must maintain their own knowledge and encourage those around them to do the same. It is not enough to know your scheme and your members you have to know what options are out their, what investment opportunities are opening up, what technology is available to maximise value and service… It can be onerous but it is essential to meet your trustee obligations fully.

The Regulator provides free and unbiased tools to help you learn the basics (Trustee toolkit) and monitor your needs and development (TPR website).