More than two-thirds of pension trustees feel that the amount of legislation and pace of change in the pensions industry is too fast, and many believe it is hindering their ability to perform their duties, according to research published by MetLife Assurance today.
Nearly half (47%) of trustees said the legislative change was affecting their ability to perform their duties as a trustee, with trustees of larger schemes particularly concerned over the impact it was having. Over half (53%) of trustees surveyed from schemes with assets over £250m said it hindered them in their duties, compared to 20% of those from schemes with assets below that value.
Wayne Daniel, chief executive at MetLife Assurance, said: 'It is concerning that some trustees feel they are being hindered in performing their job as a trustee, in particular due to the amount of legislation and pace of change.
'The fact that trustees of larger schemes worry about being able to perform their duties may hinder their efforts to find appropriate de-risking strategies that fit the unique needs of their scheme.'
Two-thirds (65%) of trustees surveyed said de-risking was as important a priority in their company's overall business objectives as it had been a year ago, with only 15% saying it was now less of a priority.
A similar percentage of respondents (66%) also said they had a plan in place to de-risk their company pension in the next five years.
However more than one-in-three (37%) acknowledged they were either 'not very' or 'not at all' prepared for engaging in the process of selecting a partner to help remove the sponsor's financial risk from their scheme.
Daniel added: 'There is an evident lack of knowledge by trustees of how to prepare for a de-risking exercise, even though two-thirds are planning to de-risk the company pension scheme in the next five years.'
