Heywood
The pension risk transfer (PRT) market is moving faster than ever. Recent figures show that the average time to buyout for FTSE350 schemes has fallen to a record low of 3.6 years, a sign of both stronger funding levels and a more streamlined de-risking process. While this acceleration is a sign of market maturity and improved insurer processes, it also puts significant pressure on trustees to keep pace.
At the same time, trustees are being urged to take a more active role in holding other stakeholders to account. As highlighted in a recent Pensions Age article, it's no longer enough for trustees to rely solely on advisers or administrators to validate benefit data or liaise with insurers. In a market that’s both faster and more demanding, the expectation is that trustees ask tougher questions and challenge assumptions with confidence.
This environment of speed and scrutiny raises an important question: how can trustees uphold the standards of governance expected of them as transaction timelines continue to compress?
Buying time by being ready
Schemes that prepare early are often better positioned for smoother transactions. While most trustees already understand the importance of clean data and robust benefit specifications, recent market shifts - including improved funding positions and insurer appetite for streamlined data - have introduced new expectations that make early validation more critical than ever. Clear governance and early validation continue to be key differentiators that can influence how insurers prioritise engagement. Trustees who invest time in preparing these elements upfront are effectively buying themselves time later in the process, when decisions need to be made quickly.
This means taking a proactive approach to auditing benefit calculations, reviewing data quality and ensuring all necessary information is available and mapped/transformed into the formats insurers need. When data and benefits are validated early, it reduces friction and increases confidence throughout the rest of the transaction.
The evolving role of the Professional Trustee
Trustees are playing a more hands-on role in preparing schemes for transactions. Their involvement now extends beyond oversight to actively facilitating transaction-readiness. That includes active involvement with their advisors in ensuring consistency between the scheme’s data and benefit specification, as required for a PRT transaction. It also includes auditing members’ on record benefits against independent benefit calculations, and ensuring data submissions reflect the full scope of liabilities.
By asking sharper questions of administrators and advisers, trustees can prevent costly delays and demonstrate the governance expected by both insurers and the Pensions Regulator. This also ensures the final terms of the PRT deal align with the scheme's obligations and members' interests.
Making time for governance
In a time-compressed environment, governance can easily become reactive. But technology is changing this. With the right digital tools, trustees can quickly assess scheme readiness, validate benefits against insurer expectations and access transparent audit trails that support defensible decision-making.
Solutions like Heywood Passport are enabling trustees to engage more confidently with their advisers and insurers, by putting trusted data and benefit intelligence at their fingertips. That means fewer surprises, faster responses and better outcomes for members.
As the pace of transactions increases, it’s crucial that trustees continue to be the constant in an increasingly fast-moving process, bringing focus, governance and clarity when it's needed most.
By staying one step ahead on data, benefits and insurer requirements, trustees can ensure they're leading the process, not chasing it..
