Recruitment challenges leave large employers at risk from pensions management skills gap

Nearly one in three (30%) large employers, representing over 3,000 UK businesses, have reported challenges when recruiting staff with specialist pensions management skills and expertise.

The survey was commissioned by leading professional trustee and pensions services firm Ross Trustees and asked over 500 senior executives of businesses employing more than 250 people their approach to pension scheme management.

The results also showed that more than one in four (27%) large employers are planning to reallocate responsibility for pensions management internally as they struggle to recruit specialised resources. Reallocating oversight of corporate pension schemes to non-specialists runs the risk of pensions management receiving less attention at a time when the complexity of the pensions landscape is increasing.

Potential for a pensions skills gap

2022 has seen a number of new regulations, including the reformed Single Code of Practice and TCFD reporting requirements. Maintaining pace with The Pensions Regulator’s efforts to better protect workplace pensions means pensions managers increasingly need specialist skills and knowledge.

Despite the pension skills gap, Ross Trustees’ research shows two in three (66%) of large businesses surveyed have not considered bringing in external support when their current pensions manager leaves the business. Yet less than a third (29%) felt they had the necessary in-house skills to reallocate these responsibilities internally, potentially putting them at risk of a skills gap should complex scenarios arise.

Geoff McKenzie commented on the findings:

“In-house pensions managers are a crucial but often overlooked role within a company. With a role often spanning financial, legal and HR, the skills of a professional pensions manager are in short supply.

 “This is especially worrying given the progressively complex pensions landscape. Pensions are headline news at the moment and the increasing regulatory burden placed on scheme governance means it is difficult for the role of a Pensions Manager to be performed by non-specialist alongside another day job.

“External pension services firms offer the ideal way to address this skills gap, either for the long term or for a short-term project where pensions issues feature. With in-house pensions managers in short supply, external advisory services offer a cost-effective way of ensuring all regulatory requirements are met and offer businesses extra capacity to deal with any unexpected events.”

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