A new fully-integrated and tailored scheme management service for Defined Benefits (DB) pension schemes has been announced by Spence & Partners, a UK pensions actuaries and administration specialists.

The service has been designed to help trustees navigate the process effectively through a combination of cutting-edge technology and specialist knowledge.

Marian Elliott, head of trustee advisory services at Spence, said: "Running a DB scheme isn't easy, trustees are asked to decipher information about the covenant, investment strategy and actuarial funding, which is often produced at different times, from different sources and with no clear link between them.

"Added to this, they are often also dealing with inaccurate and incomplete data and poorly-defined benefit structures, leading to the wrong decisions being made," she said.

Ms Elliott said the new scheme is 'revolutionary' and unique in the market because it moves away from multiple databases – one for actuarial work and another for administration records – and uses a single database containing up-to-date live member data to manage the scheme and automate all administration and actuarial calculations.

"We developed this scheme to help trustees cut through the complexities, provide them with co-ordinated risk management and get them from where they are now to where they want to be," she said.

The scheme makes full actuarial results available daily from anywhere in the world, which allows trustees to focus on other tasks such as monitoring progress and managing strategy, without having to request updated figures on an ad hoc basis from the actuary.

Spence says its approach will allow its clients to identify risks and capture opportunities as and when they arise.

"Trustees are able to make informed decisions based on clear, up to date information about their funding position, the quality and efficiency of administration calculations is improved and the governance of the scheme becomes more straightforward," said Ms Elliott.

"Good and sensible use of technology is now synonymous with good scheme management and, by embracing it, employers and trustees are able to move their scheme forward in a way they haven't been able to before."

First published 18.12.2014

lindsay.sharman@wilmington.co.uk