The Aon Pension Conference 2018
New Journeys New Destinations
The 2018 Aon Pension Conference has been designed for trustees of pension schemes and pensions, HR and finance professionals who make decisions about their company’s pension scheme.
The conference will inform you about the new journeys that schemes are taking – and the new destinations they are headed for.
Attendance will offer delegates the opportunity to hear experts’ views and ideas on how to manage defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes and provides a platform to learn from and network with peers.
Delegates can expect to leave with fresh actions for their pension scheme and will receive 4.5 CPD points for full day attendance.
The conference will visit the following cities in 2018:
- Birmingham - Tuesday, 13 Feb 2018
- London - Tuesday, 20 Feb 2018
- Bristol - Tuesday 6 Mar 2018
- Manchester - Tuesday 20 Mar 2018
- Leeds - Tuesday 17 April 2018
- Edinburgh - Tuesday 24 April 2018
- London - Wednesday 2 May 2018
We look forward to welcoming you for what promises to be an interactive and thought-provoking day. You can register here.
Agenda
08:15 Registration opens
09:50 Welcome
10:05 How active are you?
Active management is about more than just investing pension scheme assets in active managers. It encompasses asset allocation, risk management, fee management, manager research and ESG, to name just some of the key aspects.
How active are you? Does your trustee board take an active approach to decision-making and governance of the pension scheme?
This interactive session will look at these aspects in more detail, the potential consequences of not being active in these areas, and provide an opportunity to discuss with your peers.
10:50 Three ways to actively seek return
With a backdrop of EU political instability, market uncertainty, low yields and lower expected returns, how can pension schemes reduce their deficit without taking undue risk?
Drawing on Aon’s latest ideas and manager research, this session will drill down into compelling investment opportunities appropriate for the current climate. It will focus on three solutions designed to generate higher returns, and so help improve funding levels. Importantly, we will also look at how schemes can implement these ideas and draw upon some short case studies to give you practical answers.
11:20 BREAK
11:45 TV times
Transfers from DB schemes remains a topical issue with higher transfer values and higher take-up rates than ever before. However, opinion is divided on whether this is good for members or not, and how proactive trustees should be in communicating the option. In this session we will look at the issue from a technical, member and trustee perspective:
Technical: Why have transfer values increased so much and what else is driving recent interest?
Member: What does the IFA process look like from a member’s perspective and how do they come to a decision?
Trustee: What role should trustees play in supporting members?
12:25 Accelerating progress towards your end-game
2017 saw many schemes’ buy-out deficits shrink significantly through a combination of positive asset returns and favorable bulk annuity pricing. 2017 was also a watershed moment for the appetite of scheme trustees and sponsors to engage proactively with members about the full range of available benefit options, for the benefit of both members and schemes.
We will explore how to integrate both insurance and member option opportunities into a scheme’s long-term strategy, accelerating progress towards the scheme’s endgame while delivering choice and security to members.
13:05 LUNCH
14:00 Current issues
Chair’s update on topical issues at the time of the conference.
14.15 Making DC work for a diverse membership
In this interactive session we will explore some strategic themes around DC in the post pension freedoms environment, incorporating key results from our 2017 DC scheme survey to paint a picture of where DC is today and where it’s heading. We will then move to a table discussion where we will look at three different employee scenarios – we will then give you the opportunity to discuss how you think they could be best supported by the employer in terms of scheme design and member engagement.
15:00 Cyber resilience – are you ready?
Cyber risk is topical for all pension schemes, whether they are DB or DC, large or small. It covers a range of issues, many of which are new to trustees and advisers. This session will provide an overview of this emerging area, and cover the cyber risks and potential actions for trustees and advisers.
15:15 Market journey
With political uncertainty in the UK and around the world, historic equity market highs and ultra-low bond yields are among the challenges facing institutional investors.
We will take you through the journey from the economies and markets to our key asset allocation recommendations, highlighting some of the important pitfalls and dangers for investors but also the most compelling opportunities as market conditions evolve.
15:45 Closing remarks
16:00 Drinks and networking
17:00 Close
Please register here