The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has officially begun its search for a chair to head up the Personal Accounts trustee corporation.

Expected to begin work at some point in 2010, the chair of the corporation will be tasked with helping it gradually take over the running of the national pension savings scheme from PADA.

Graham Vidler, director of corporate services at the delivery body, has confirmed that the post is now being officially advertised in the national press. Speaking at the Pensions Age autumn conference at the London Stock Exchange on Friday, 25 September, Vidler said that PADA are looking for a "very high calibre of client", who would have to get used to being in the public profile from 2012 onwards.

The trustee corporation, he said, would be an independent body working "solely in respect to its members".

He also confirmed that a pilot scheme would be rolled out in 2011, to help iron out any initial glitches in the system.

"It's not that far away now," he said. "We have a sign up in our offices which shows us how many weeks we have left until the implementation of the scheme and it's not that long now. It's 81 weeks away and we are going to be ready in that time."

Also speaking at the Pensions Age event was Bill Galvin, executive director for strategic development at the Pensions Regulator (TPR), who said the industry watchdog was keen to help employers get to grips with defined contribution (DC) provision.

Following the recent guide TPR co-published with the FSA on scheme communication, Galvin said that engagement from employers with their workforce on pension provision needed to improve. In order to help employers prepare for auto-enrollment in 2012 and start to meet TPR standards on DC, the body will start actively approaching employers and providing them with an "intensive programme of education", he added.

He also warned that TPR was not prepared to tolerate poor performance in DC for much longer.

"(Employers) need to register their ability to comply with our requirements from 2012 onwards. There will be consequences if they don't. We have powers and will use them if we need to," said Galvin.

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