Change happens in all facets of life and the corporate sponsors of pension schemes are no different.
Mergers, acquisitions, divestments, changing covenants or even changes of management team can all trigger increased attention on pension obligations and often lead to the appointment of a Professional Trustee.
Where some form of transaction or corporate change is taking place, decisions can be time-critical, technically complex and often involve difficult conflicts of interest. In these circumstances the experience and independence of a Professional Trustee can be invaluable in helping a Trustee Board to navigate these tricky waters often under significant pressure and where there isn’t time to train up other members of the Trustee Board. Many of our Professional Trustees have encountered these situations with their Trustee hat on while others, notably from corporate finance, accounting and covenant advisory backgrounds, have dealt with them throughout their careers.
In these situations, the focus is usually on Defined Benefit obligations which can be significant hurdles or even potential deal breakers. But we should not overlook the impact on Defined Contribution schemes, which can often be restructured as a consequence of corporate activity.