Societe Generale has moved its existing in-house trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme to the Aegon Master Trust.

The move involved 4,500 UK pension scheme members and the bulk transfer of around £385m of existing pension assets has been completed.

The asset transfer was undertaken in a series of three tranches over a two-week period.

It was overseen by employee benefits consultancy, Isio, which Aegon said was to ensure the best outcome for members.

Commenting on the announcement, Societe Generale head of benefits, Graham Clark, said: “Pensions are an important component of employee remuneration and so at the heart of this process was our desire to make our employees’ pensions more accessible and interactive.

“One of the key aspects that attracted us to the Aegon Master Trust was the intuitive app and video summaries which allow employees to keep up to date with their savings. The changes have been well received and have helped put pensions front of mind among employees.”

Aegon managing director of workplace business, Linda Whorlow, said it was “great to welcome” Societe Generale as a new pension client and to work on the project together.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been investing heavily in our master trust proposition to deliver market leading personalised member engagement tools, along with the development of our financial education, guidance and advice services to help members on their journey towards a secure retirement,” she continued.

“Another key theme for us and Societe Generale is a robust and well governed investment offer and our LifePath default fund has seen a significant increase in the proportion of funds invested in ESG strategies. This is an area we are very passionate about and high on our agenda with all our partners.”

Isio head of DC solutions and lead adviser to Societe Generale, Richard Birkin, added: “The rapidly changing regulatory regime for trustees of DC schemes has meant running a single-employer own-trust arrangement is becoming less feasible.

“Over the last five years the DC market has shifted at pace away from the sole employer model and propositions continue to evolve almost on a daily basis. It’s encouraging to see the strengthening of member journeys whether that be through engagement touch points or reshaped default strategies.”

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