Trustee training has taken a backseat for a quarter of respondents to Independent Trustee Services Ltd's (ITS) Survey on Trustee Governance due to time and resource restraints.

Just over half of those surveyed had not completed the Pensions Regulator's (TPR) online training service, the Trustee Toolkit, and ten per cent were not confident in their own ability to identify the factors and information necessary to make judgements on employer covenant.

"This reinforces our experience that lay trustees often struggle to handle the increasing demands of both their "day job" and trustee responsibilities," said Mike Edis, ITS director. "This is particularly true for smaller schemes which face the challenges of cost constraints, skills shortages and the reluctance of members to step forward as trustees."

Trustees pushed to limit Edis said that the Trustee Toolkit on TPR's website is a good "one stop shop" for trustees when it comes to addressing their TKU needs, and so he is disappointed that more are unable to take advantage of this resource. "We frequently find that some of the most effective training happens during the course of trustee meetings via our coaching and mentoring lay trustees."

Almost a third of respondents also admitted that they had not agreed a process with their sponsor which would enable them to monitor the covenant effectively on a regular basis.

"Post the "credit crunch", trustees' concern about the sponsor is not surprising. The fact that this figure is not higher may be due to a combination of factors. There will certainly be a time lag in the reporting process, so that trustees may not know the current financial position of the employer. Of perhaps greater concern is the high proportion of trustees that are not monitoring the covenant," Edis concluded.

- Pensions Age February 2009

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