LONDON, 24 June 2020 – Adopting a technology-led approach could save the UK’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme Trustees a total of 3,000 days each year, according to new research by OneDB, Willis Towers Watson’s integrated DB scheme management service.
The analysis compares the time that traditional trustees spend on duties to that of OneDB clients who had adopted more efficient technology-driven processes to save time on scheme management.
As Trustees’ ways of working has undergone enforced changes though the COVID-19 crisis, it has placed greater scrutiny on the way they spend time on their scheme responsibilities. Having a technology-driven way of working can enhance decision making in virtual environments, helping to keep schemes on track with their journey plans.
By moving many of the traditional scheme monitoring processes into an up-to-date online dashboard, the average scheme is expected to reduce the time required by each individual trustee by four hours each year. At an industry level, based upon there being around 1,200 DB schemes valued between £50m and £500m, this equates to approximately 3,000 working days per annum that could be saved by using a technology-led approach to governance and data, allowing Trustees greater freedom to focus on Scheme strategy.
Aspects of the trustees’ role where technological upgrades can save the most time include:
As Trustees look for ways to improve scheme management, technology is a vital solution to making productivity gains without sacrificing on performance.
“This analysis shows that, for a lot of Schemes, there are clear ways they can minimise wasted efforts on data and governance processes.
Gareth Strange,
Head of OneDB,
Willis Towers Watson,
Commenting on the research, Gareth Strange, Head of OneDB at Willis Towers Watson, said “Trustees fulfil a crucial role for Pension Schemes, but that doesn’t mean that the traditional ways of working need to stay as they have always been. During the crisis, trustees are likely to have already adjusted to working from home by adopting technological solutions.
“We anticipate that this shift will cause trustees to look at where they can make better use of technology to save time, through dashboards and data tools, and perhaps to move away from longer meetings, to shorter and more regular updates, based upon tackling specific aspects of their work.
“This analysis shows that, for a lot of Schemes, there are clear ways they can minimise wasted efforts on data and governance processes. But each individual and the Scheme as a whole needs to find the best ways of working to suit them and, in the end, their members.”
The calculation of 20 hours per annum assumes an average of five trustees per UK DB scheme, saving four hours annually each.
The industry level statistic is based on market information in the Pension Funds Online data suggests there are an estimated 1,200 DB schemes between £50m and £500m in value in the UK, leading to a total of 3,000 eight-hour days saved on an aggregate level.
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