The Pensions Regulator is developing advice for trustees' management of advisers and service providers, as part of its 21st century trusteeship campaign.

Speaking at the recent PASA Administration Conference, the regulator’s acting executive director of regulatory policy Anthony Raymond said he hoped the result of its upcoming advice will be trustees developing “a closer and a more engaged relationship with their administrator”.

“Scheme administrators often bridge the gap between trustee aspirations and genuine good governance. And occasionally even fill those gaps where trustees are not properly engaged with the process,” he stated.

“We want trustees to better appreciate the value of a good administration and we would like them to develop a better dialogue with administrators. And we want them to appreciate the link between good governance and improved outcomes for members.”

According to Raymond, it is TPR’s intention to encourage trustees to take a more active role in managing and asking the right questions from third-party administrators and advisers. He noted that this may “prompt its own consequences”, so the administration industry itself will need to respond to this “behaviour change”. However, “I like to feel that we can support one another in dealing with that,” he added.

Raymond stated that PASA and TPR “share an anxiety that things are not moving fast enough” but by pooling their expertise, trustees “can be helped to better understand their roles”.

“We would like [trustees] to feel more confident in their appreciation of administrators and to be able to strengthen a relationship that should be valued but is sometimes seen to be regarded, unfortunately, as peripheral,” he explained.

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