Pension fund trustees should be rewarded with payment for the ever-increasing expertise that they are now required to have, say 62 per cent in a Pension Corporation study.

Amongst UK occupational pension fund trustees, 55 per cent of respondents say their increasing expertise is a reason for payment, 17 per cent claimed it was due to the "significant level of responsibility", and 14 per cent said the "amount of unrecognised time spent" warrants pay.

"Trustees have undoubtedly had an increasing series of responsibilities placed on them over the past few years, not least the obligation to understand all the de-risking options open to them," commented David Collinson, head of origination, Pension Corporation. "It is also vital for them to understand how these options might work, a significant additional area of complexity."

The pressure on trustees is evident in the Pensions Regulator's Trustee Knowledge and Understanding guidance, which sets out the knowledge levels expected of occupational pension fund trustees. It lists 13 distinct areas of knowledge, and 94 specific knowledge requirements.

The study was conducted amongst 142 lay trustees and 101 consultants, pension managers and independent trustees, and 64 per cent represented UK defined benefit schemes. The research period ran from January to March 2010.

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