Whether you have a Group Personal Pension, or you're switching to a DC Master Trust, the role of a pension governance committee is critical to ensuring that you're getting the best value from your pension spend and delivering great retirement outcomes for your employees.

We've put together our top 10 tips to help you improve the way your governance committee operates and ensure that you're getting the best from your committee.

1. Keep member outcomes at the heart of the work of the Governance Committee! Adopt some clear targets to support your objectives.
2. Objectives should be clearly set out and linked to the Terms of Reference of the Governance Committee.
3. Ensure your Governance Committee oversees pension arrangements with one eye on your sponsor’s key corporate policies e.g. on Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion.
4. Pick the right people! Engaged, motived with some member representation.
5. Stay up to date – induction and ongoing training should be part of your Governance Committee business plan.
6. Maximise effectiveness by limiting meetings to 2-3 hours with a mix of online and face-to-face. Keep meeting packs short and focused.
7. Meeting structure should have a closed session plus a part to which your provider is invited – your key task is overseeing what your provider is doing for your members.
8. Take the best of trustee world and leave the rest; this is your opportunity to pick and choose from trustee governance requirements so go for the value add.
9. Keep a high-level risk register with risk defined as that which hinders your objectives.
10. Undertake a light touch annual effectiveness review of your Governance Committee to ensure people, processes and structure all remain sharp and fit for purpose.

Download our top ten tips

If you have any questions about setting up a governance committee, or would like to discuss your current governance arrangements, please get in touch.