Achieving the goals of your defined benefit pension

Mercer can help you to navigate the complexities involved in running a defined benefit scheme. Our size gives us the pool of expertise to help you meet your defined benefit pension scheme’s legal and regulatory requirements as well as the tools to help you effectively and efficiently achieve your endgame.

 

A defined benefit pension team – your responsibilities are ours

Defined benefit schemes are complex and require considerable resource and expertise to deliver good outcomes for your members and stakeholders. Whether you are a trustee or a sponsor of a defined benefit pension scheme, Mercer provides tools that can help you:

 

  • Identify and mitigate risks
  • Take advantage of opportunities
  • Achieve your scheme’s goals

Mercer’s defined benefit pension specialists are committed to helping defined benefit schemes meet their obligations.

 

  • Supporting you with developing and implementing an optimal strategic plan to meet your objectives with an appropriate risk profile.
  • Delivering investment strategies in a practical, cost-effective way, to help manage risk and access opportunities.
  • A dedicated pension risk transfer team to reduce your scheme’s risks using the full range of solutions, no matter what your scheme’s size.
  • Governance and scheme management solutions that provide you with the framework and controls to run your scheme effectively.

Our scale means we dynamically expand the team to bring the right professionals on board to help your organisation’s specific issues as they arise.

 

Our defined benefit solutions

DB Master trust

The Mercer Master Trust’s (“MMT”) unique openly structured operating model allows participating employers access to ‘best in class’ providers in each of their key areas of specialism.

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Trustee consulting

We put people at the heart of what we do and we partner with our trustee clients to put their members first, run their schemes effectively and make time to focus on their strategic aims.

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Pension governance services

Helping you to ensure that you have the right structures and processes to enable effective, timely decisions and risk management.

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Pension administration

We provide information and services to members through a variety of different channels, tools and technology to help you drive engagement and reduce your costs through increased self-service.

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Corporate pensions consulting

Whether you are looking at ensuring your current pension scheme is as effective as it could be, or to manage the costs and risks of a legacy pension scheme, we can help you decide on the right approach for your scheme.

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Risk transfer

We put people at the heart of what we do and we partner with our trustee clients to put their members first, run their schemes effectively and make time to focus on their strategic aims.

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GMP equalisation

We offer a wide variety of services covering all aspects of your GMP rectification and equalisation project - whether we are you current administrator, Scheme Actuary or neither.

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What works for your defined benefit scheme

There are many issues facing DB schemes, and these challenges are growing in number and complexity with recent examples including:

 

  • Defining and managing long-term funding objectives, working with all stakeholders
  • Increasing regulation and strategic drivers to address environmental, social, and governance risks
  • The requirements of the new Code of Practice, notably the need to carry out an own risk assessment and have in place an effective system of governance
  • Accounting for cyber risk

More than ever, well-run defined benefit schemes have sponsors and trustees working together; collaboration is essential to ensure the best outcomes for all of their stakeholders.

 

Decision making and defined benefit schemes

Many defined benefit schemes have either set or have a good idea of what their endgame is, where this is appropriate – whether that be securing all liabilities with a third party or reaching low dependency. We help schemes plan their journey and ensure every decision taken gets them a step closer to achieving their objectives.

 

DB schemes and consolidation

There is a spectrum of consolidation options available to defined benefit schemes designed to create efficiencies and mitigate risk. These include:

 

  • Employing a professional trustee either as part of your existing trustee board or as a sole trustee
  • Partial or full fiduciary management to help navigate increasingly complex investment markets
  • Transferring your scheme into a defined benefit master trust, to gain economies of scale
  • Completing a risk transfer transaction with an insurer
  • Superfunds and capital backed journey plans

Whilst consolidation may not be right for every defined benefit scheme, we help trustees and sponsors consider these options and how they might help with any of the issues the scheme is facing and fit with the overall goals of the scheme.

 

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Looking after a defined benefit scheme needn’t be complex. We provide practical advice and tools, and a client point of view, that will always be tailored to your objectives.
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Tess Page, Partner and UK Wealth Trustee Leader

 

How Mercer can manage and innovate your DB scheme needs

Pressures on trustees and sponsors of defined benefit pension schemes continues to grow. The governance burden increases. Investment Markets get more complex and the availability of capital for deficit reduction contribution continues to be squeezed.

How can Mercer help

The ultimate goal of a defined benefit pension scheme is making sure all members receive the benefits and service they are entitled to, whilst ensuring the sponsor remains financially viable.

 

Mercer will work with you to meet the expectations of all your scheme’s stakeholders and ensure that your scheme is prepared for the future.

 

Contact our defined benefit specialist team for more information on the specific services and solutions we offer.

 

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