The vast majority of trustees and sponsors are finally looking at de-risking as a priority for their schemes, but many still struggle to develop governance structures to help them do so, says Mercer.

The financial consultant is concerned that many schemes are finding it difficult to build these structures alone, following research it carried out which found that only 12 out of 100 polled schemes are confident that they have a framework in place to implement a de-risking investment strategy with the current trustee governance structure. Seven per cent said they needed significant help, and 28 per cent said their processes could be better.

"De-risking is a high priority but trustees - already overloaded with substantial responsibilities - are struggling to do it on their own," commented Bruce Rigby, Mercer's chief retirement strategist. "There are a range of de-risking options available but each scheme should consider all the alternatives."

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