updated 25/01/06
Pensions Management
Awards 1999
Competition is one of the mainsprings of modern life
and pension schemes seem to be no exception. The drive to
excel is still flourishing among UK schemes, if the entries to this year's PM Awards is anything to go by.
Certainly the panel of judges found it a difficult task to separate the winners from the commended
entries. However, after going through many entries the judges deliberated, debated and occasionally argued, before coming up with their choices for this year's winners.
In particular, the awards for Large Scheme, Public Sector Scheme, Communications and Pensions Manager of the Year all saw intense competition. It is good to see so many schemes making a real effort to reach out to members and pensioners in the Communications category and unsuccessful entrants should not feel discouraged. In other categories the winners stood out. That is no criticism of the other entrants, many of which were excellent, but some names cropped up in several categories, as evidence of their all round quality. These include the overall scheme of the year, Blue Circle, which also won the Trustee Excellence award and was commended for the Private Sector and Communications award. Other schemes to impress the judges in more than one category include West Midlands, London Pensions Fund Authority, Greater Manchester, Emap and Thomson Directories.
While these schemes have set the standards this year, many other entrants should be recognised too for their achievements. Running a scheme is not the easiest operation and it is clear that many schemes are a reassuringly stable element in companies coping with change.
This is the sixth PM Awards and the event has got bigger each year I would like to thank the panel of judges for giving up their time and Michael Duncombe in particular, for agreeing to act as the judges' spokesman at the Awards presentation. Thanks must also go to the entrants and sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible.
Matthew Craig, Editor ~ Pensions Management.
Large Scheme Award ~ Winner: West Midlands Pension Fund
Commended: EMAP, Sears & Greater Manchester
The large scheme award inevitably brings together some of the leviathans of the pensions industry. The criteria for the large scheme centres around its ability to demonstrate excellence across the board with the focus centred on its ability to provide excellent services to its members.
The judges had their work cut out in making a decision for this category Emap and Sears were recommended for commendation Judges noted that media group Emap, as the only defined contribution scheme on the shortlist, provided lively, clear and helpful communications material. Its publishing background was perhaps a help in this regard. In addition, a range of investment choices from cash and gilts exposure to equity options, catered for different degrees of risk tolerance. At the same time these automatically included a lifestyling arrangement.
The Sears pensions department described itself as the 'one reassuringly stable entity in a period of intense corporate upheaval'. Judges recognised it had coped with an enormous workload as well as overseeing the introduction of a new administration system. One judge commented "I liked the chatty, friendly style of the scheme's additional voluntary contribution literature". Other facets of the plan came in for special mention, notably that the external auditors had carried out an audit of the department's record against its service level agreement.
The winner however, was the West Midlands Pension Fund, the second largest public sector scheme in the UK. The scheme is not new to receiving awards, but obviously has managed to maintain a pre eminent status over the past few years if the panel's views were anything to go by. Judges were impressed with the standard of the scheme's benefits statements and communications. The latter range from member satisfaction surveys to employee roadshows, in house videos and even talking payslips. Mike Woodall, the scheme's chief officer, has said in the past that the scheme sees its role as helping raise the standard across the industry. The judges felt the efforts the scheme makes are set to meet such an approach.
Technology Award ~ Winner: Rothmans International UK Pension Fund
Commended: LPFA & West Midlands
Ask five different pension scheme managers for their definition of technology and you're likely to receive five different answers. These may range from the department's latest snazzy photocopier to an intranet system spanning the entire active membership of the pension scheme. It is against this backdrop that the Pensions Managements, judging panel had to make its decision for best use of technology Judges were mindful of the need to take into account the size of scheme as well as the usefulness of the technology in place.
Four entries made it to the shortlist Rothmans, The West Midlands Pension Fund, the London Pension Funds Authority (LPFA) and the Post Office.
Technology,
from the scheme manager's perspective at least, is inextricably
linked to communications. As one judge remarked, many of the entries appeared
to be using technology as an alternative to paper based communication. For
example, the LPFA entry had a copy of its actuarial report available on its
site.
This prompted one of the judges to comment that "it provided a lot more
information than you'd receive on paper"
The West Midlands has already got something of a reputation for embracing internet technology. Judges were impressed with the amount of information provided by its web site.
Public Sector Scheme ~ Winner: The Post Office Pension Schemes
Commended: Greater Manchester, LPFA & West Midlands
The public sector award is one of Pension Managements most sought after accolades. It is invariably won by a scheme which provides services to members above and beyond the call of duty. The shortlist boiled down to four schemes in this category each of which, in the opinion of the judges, were very good. All agreed it was a tricky decision to pick a winner from the quartet.
For example, judges were impressed by the commitment shown by the West Midlands scheme to achieving high service standards and continued improvement. West Midlands provides simple, clear benefits statements and produces separate booklets for retirement and preserved benefits. The use of a bus for pensions road shows proved a rather unusual tool in helping to get the message across and overall the scheme was worthy of commendation.
Greater Manchester was also commended for its high standards of administration and in the judges opinion produced the best communications material out of the short listed quartet. Judges liked the members' booklet with photographs and quotes from individual members interspersed among the descriptions of the benefits.
The winner in this section was the Post Office scheme, one of the UK's largest arrangements. In the words of one judge, the scheme "exudes professionalism in every facet of its approach to running one of the largest schemes in the pensions industry"
The judges acknowledged that large schemes may attract larger budgets. But the use of the budget was still a factor which must be managed effectively. Its trustee report was picked out as a highlight, but the scheme scoops the award for high quality service, admin and communication
Pensions Manager of the Year ~ Winner: Jenny Rosser
It is a rare person in the pensions industry who hasn't heard of Jenny Rosser. She will be recognised as the innovative British Airways pensions manager, as the woman who publicised her concerns about free-standing additional voluntary contributions (FSAVC) mis-selling and took them to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and as the author of a lively, often outspoken, column in Pension Managements sister title, Pensions Week.
This year's judges of the Pensions Manager of the Year award had a pretty good idea what they were looking for. They wanted someone who could run a department which both delivers on time and gets things right first time. They wanted a manager who communicated and communicated well with members and staff at all levels. They wanted someone with significant technical ability, who was constantly on the lookout for ways to improve service.
Reaching the decision was no easy task. In particular, the judges "felt that Mike Woodall should be commended for all the work he has put into the West Midland Scheme and the improvements made to the service it provides."
However, in Rosser they found that hard-to-define little bit extra. What stood out in the end, according to a spokesperson for the judges, was her "somehow finding time to make a significant contribution to the industry."
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