Pension trustees have been warned that low quality administration could end up costing more in the future
Carole Ward, a partner at actuaries Barnett Waddingham, said trustees needed to take action 'today' and invest in good quality administration.
Ward acknowledged that pension trustees were often under pressure to keep costs to the bare minimum, but she added that this could have a 'knock-on effect further down the line as poor administration can lead to errors and inconsistencies, which can prove costly for the scheme and its members'.
Citing results from an online poll conducted by Barnett Waddingham in conjunction with the Pensions Management Institute, Ward said that over half of the respondents felt that administration costs was the biggest obstacle to maintaining good quality.
'Trustees need to understand that by investing in good quality administration now, they can avoid paying for the mistakes of poor administration in the future - the long-term costs of not doing so can massively outweigh the costs of putting good administration processes in place now,' she said.