The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has launched the 'Trustee Effectiveness Service' to help trustee boards review governance.

The service, launched in collaboration with KPMG, also helps boards to make sure their governance measures up to The Pension Regulator's (TPR) best practice.

As part of the service, the tool anonymously captures and reports the views of each trustee board member, as well as other relevant stakeholders.

The report is then reviewed by KPMG, which adds commentary, insight, and suggestions before working with the PLSA to facilitate a workshop.

The workshop is where findings are discussed and next steps agreed.

Available to non-members as well as PLSA members, the service aims to provide trustees with practical guidance, and the reassurance of knowing their schemes' governance has been reviewed by experts.

KPMG said the service will provide a valuable resource.

"While Trustee boards put a significant amount of time and effort into ensuring that their pension schemes meet the high standards demanded of them by the regulator, it can be a daunting task," said David Fairs, partner at KPMG.

"We are delighted to be working with the PLSA to offer this service, which is designed to provide trustee boards with a tool to assess how they are doing and set practical steps to improve governance.

"It will also give them reassurance that these decisions have been reviewed by independent specialist third parties."

The Pensions Regulator said it welcomes tools that enable trustees to assess current governance levels and set targets for improvement.

Lesley Titcomb, TPR chief executive, said: "As part of our work on 21st Century Trusteeship we would like to encourage trustees to regularly assess their board effectiveness and we welcome initiatives developed by industry to support TPR's drive to improve governance."

First published 21.09.2017

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com