Independent trustee services
Pi Pension Trustees is part of the Pi Partnership Group, an independent pension consultancy who provide specialist support to employers and trustee boards. Our independent, professional trustees can offer specialist advice and knowledge to help trustee boards make informed decisions and deliver robust governance. We are members of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and are fully supportive of the new accreditation policy being promoted by the Pension Regulator and professional bodies.
The accreditation of professional trustees
The Pension Regulator rightly expects higher standards from professional trustees. The definition is designed to apply to individuals, whether or not incorporated, who act as trustees in a business capacity, usually for one or more unrelated schemes. The term independent trustee can also apply to trustees who are not professional trustees, for example, it is possible for a lay trustee to be an independent trustee.
The Pension Regulator is clear that they expect professional trustees to gain accreditation to show that they meet the required standards; we have been working closely as part of the APPT to develop this accreditation process.
Our team can advise you how a professional trustee can help meet your pension scheme needs. Contact us on 020 8879 6500 or enquiries@pipg.co.uk.
Our trustee services
Discover how Pi Pension Trustees can take the stress out of your organisation’s pension trusteeship needs. We combine the range of skills of our trustees and wider consultancy team to meet our client’s needs in a highly effective way through an open collaborative approach, shared strategic objectives and by establishing effective working relationships with employers, regulators and advisers.
Chair of trustee
The role of Chair of Trustee is pivotal to the operational success of a trustee board and has been clearly identified as being central to delivering good governance. We act as Chair to a number of pension schemes where we provide leadership.
Sole trustee
A sole trustee bears exactly the same fiduciary duties as a trustee board and can enable a pension scheme to be run more efficiently whilst maintaining robust governance processes. Discover the benefits of having a professional sole trustee, including managing board succession to enable existing trustees to retire; ensuring your pension scheme is regulation-compliant and benefiting from cost efficiencies and specialist technical knowledge as well as many additional benefits.
Interim appointments
For schemes which do not require an ongoing independent trustee, you can use our experienced professional pension trustees to help support your trustee board through complex situations such as company restructure, valuations or detailed regulatory discussions. Find out more about interim trustee appointments at Pi Partnership.
Charity and non-pension trusteeship
With an increase in demand for professional trustees within the wider non-pension arena, we can provide trusteeships to a range of organisations where the benefits of strategic leadership, strengthening governance and other elements are of increasing importance.
Find Out MoreSpecialist hand-picked team of experts
Meet some of the faces behind our company
Paul Black
Paul Black
Independent Trustee
Paul has worked in the pensions industry for over 30 years, as well as being a qualified actuary he holds the ‘Award in Pension Trusteeship’. Since 2017 he has acted as a professional independent trustee and has experience as both Chair and as a co-trustee. Prior to moving into trusteeship in 2017, he was an investment partner with LCP, where he provided investment consulting advice to clients. This included the development of a range of investment strategies for both DC and DB arrangements covering the design of default funds and journey planning, aiming for self-sufficiency or buy-out.
His specialist investment knowledge and actuarial background combined with his experience as a professional trustee enables him to add significant value to the operation of a trustee board. He can help in supporting trustees through complex investment strategies, challenge advisers constructively and help agree on suitable funding objectives for the pension scheme.
Gill Mitchell
Gill Mitchell
Compliance Officer
Since joining Pi in 2003, Gill has been central to Pi’ s successful operation and growth. Formerly Managing Director, Gill now acts as Company Secretary to the Pi Partnership Board as well as overseeing all of Pi’s compliance procedures. She is a member of the GDPR response team and in her role as Compliance Officer, she is part of the Governance & Compliance Committee (GCC). The GCC reports to the Pi Trustee Board and is instrumental to the oversight and management of our Sole Trustee appointments. Gill is responsible for the delivery of our AAF 02/07 reporting and checking our internal processes meet all required standards – ensuring we deliver the very highest standard of service to our clients is central to her approach to compliance management.
Jenny Croxall
Jenny Croxall
Independent Trustee
Jenny graduated from Oxford University in 2001 with an MA in Mathematics and qualified as an Actuary in 2008. After 7 years as a Scheme Actuary working across a wide range of schemes and becoming involved in a number of complex funding negotiations and corporate restructures Jenny joined Mathieson Consulting Limited, the pensions on divorce specialists. Where her actuarial background enabled her to act as an expert witness to a wide range of cases.
Since 2016 Jenny has focused on providing Independent Trustee cases and is frequently appointed as a Sole Trustee where her technical background and collaborative manner delivers pragmatic and cost-effective scheme management.
As well as being a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Jenny also holds the Award in Pension Trusteeship from the Pension Management Institute. And is a member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.
Sarah Marshall
Sarah Marshall
Independent Trustee
Sarah graduated from Oxford University in 2007 with a Master’s in Mathematics and qualified as an Actuary in 2011. Sarah now focuses on providing Independent Trustee services and acts as on several Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution schemes. Her combination of technical knowledge with a clear and concise manner adds value to a trustee board. She is frequently appointed as a Sole Trustee and has extensive experience of streamlined scheme management and working closely with the employer in this role. She has also developed member engagement programmes for Defined Contribution schemes, including holding Q & A sessions with the membership and increasing the visibility of the trustee role.
As well as being a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Sarah also holds the Award in Pension Trusteeship from the Pension Management Institute. She is a member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees and was previously a council member with responsibility for finance.
Nigel Hill
Nigel Hill
Independent Trustee
Nigel has worked in occupational pensions for over 40 years and for more than 25 years has been a professional trustee, either as a main board member, Chair, or as Sole Trustee. His appointments have also included specialist interim appointments to manage complex negotiations and mitigate existing conflicts of interest.
His experience ranges from ensuring a trustee board meets the necessary compliance requirements through to highly imaginative and creative problem-solving. He has also chaired schemes through buy-out and winding-up processes. His clients have been in the commercial, charity and public sector, so he is used to working with a range of employers and understands their commercial pressures.
Nigel is a Council Member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees and Chair of their Sole Trustee sub-committee. He also holds the Award in Pension Trusteeship from the Pension Management Institute.
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