The 2009 survey has revealed that:

• as many as 15% of respondents are unhappy with both the extent and frequency of their scheme’s communications. On the other hand, in addition to the normal published reports, 26% of schemes do manage to address the need for good communications with members by holding open meetings either annually or just occasionally. The OPA would like to see this example of best practice extended.
• Many schemes were found to fail to make the results of the full annual financial reports and triennial actuarial reviews available within a reasonable timeframe. Whereas 16% of the schemes manage to publish their annual report within a period of between 1 and 3 months and a triennial actuarial valuation within 8 months, as many as 8% manage to spin out the period for the annual report to 10-12 months and longer than 15 months for actuarial valuation. Thus the information becomes hopelessly outdated by the time it reaches the ordinary members and causes considerable concern during times of recession.
• On scheme governance, and in particular the management of conflicts of interest, the survey revealed issues of grave concern. 80% of the respondents’ schemes’ trustee boards were found to embody a director of the sponsoring company, 24% with even the Finance Director and 35% a member who reports directly to the Finance Director. The OPA believes that Finance Directors should be disqualified altogether from being scheme trustees. Furthermore we urge the Regulator to intervene when there are clear examples of conflicted directors such as the recent case of British Airways.
• As many as 12% of our respondents were not at all happy with the level of representation of pensioners’ interests on the trustee board. The OPA believes that the principles laid out in the 2004 Pensions Act of proportionality, fairness and transparency in the nomination and selection processes for Member Nominated Trustees (MNTs) are clearly being ignored by some schemes.
• 56% of our members’ schemes do not yet have a board consisting of 50% MNTs. 24% of schemes were found to have expressed some opposition to having 50% MNTs and significantly the majority of these also had company directors on the board. In the 2004 Pensions Act the government gave a commitment to introduce the 50% level by 2009 but there is no sign of this happening and the OPA now calls on the government to implement this commitment now or at least before the coming General Election.

See the full report here (pdf, 304kb)