Welcome to the Admin and Data Forum hosted by Professional Pensions. Please ensure you arrive with plenty of time to get settled and enjoy some refreshments before the opening remarks commence!

In the year leading up to June 2023, the pensions sector witnessed a staggering 4,000% surge in reported cybersecurity breaches to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), underscoring a concerning trend of escalating and increasingly perilous attacks. Numerous pension schemes have fallen victim to these breaches, prompting The Pensions Regulator to advise that organisations should anticipate cyberattacks as an inevitability rather than a possibility. Consequently, cybersecurity has become a prominent concern across the industry, highlighting the importance of prevention strategies, incident management, member communications, and post-incident evaluations.

This session will address:

• What scam tactics are we currently seeing in the market?
• What have we learnt from recent breach activity in the industry?
• How can schemes ensure they have sufficient technical protections in place against cybercrime?
• How to best manage your scheme’s cyber resilience • How best to respond when an attack occurs
  

Mapping Out Your Pensions Projects With the ever-increasing demands on Trustees, can we get pensions schemes to navigate smoother waters? This session examines a scheme facing GMP completion, de-risking, and dashboard readiness. Follow Maurice and Andrew as they guide the scheme using streamlined planning, data tools and member assessments, to optimise efficient outcomes and maximise pensions projects value.

The recent uptick in interest rates and last year's Mini Budget crisis has significantly improved funding levels of numerous schemes. Many are now on the brink of endgame, eyeing buyout or buy-in transactions within the next five years.

While failure to keep track of members has been somewhat previously overlooked, it has a profound effect on defined benefit schemes looking to de-risk through buy-in or buyout transactions. Inaccuracies in fund record-keeping during de-risking could inflate liabilities, leading to unnecessarily high insurance premiums and substantial long-term costs. Ensuring a seamless endgame demands meticulous attention to member data accuracy and comprehensive record maintenance.

This session will address:

• Best Delivery Model: How can schemes ensure they have the optimal delivery model for their unique needs?
• Derisking Plans Support: Ensuring administration aligns seamlessly with derisking strategies.
• Buyout Readiness: What does it truly mean for administration and data to be "buyout ready" in practice?
• Future Changes: Exploring the transformative changes in administration delivery and member experience post buy-in/buyout.

An ideal opportunity to connect with fellow trustees and relish refreshments, for first class company and a second to none experience!

Connection-ready means being 95% prepared to connect to the PDP ecosystem, which must happen for schemes between late 2024 and October 2026. Additionally, schemes must meet dashboard duties post connection, data matching, view requests at scale, report on data coverage rates, and be running on its integrated service provider. It is ultimately the responsibility of trustees to get data matching processes in order. If trustees address these challenges now, they will benefit from cost and time savings once dashboards are launched.

This session will address:

• Where we are with Dashboards at the moment?
• What's coming up in 2024?
• Answering your questions

The Pensions Regulator continues to collaborate with third-party administrators, with notable progress reported by Cliodhna Judge regarding the successful pilot project on 'administrator relationships'.

Currently, there is growing emphasis on enhancing data quality, member engagement, fostering trustee understanding and cooperation, alongside refining systems and processes, and dashboard readiness. Despite ongoing delays of the pensions dashboard, schemes are continuing efforts toward the launch, aiming for a new connection deadline of October 31, 2026. However, with other projects to juggle alongside this, such as GMPE and Endgame, schemes must be prepared. Considering these deadlines, what proactive measures should schemes be undertaking to prepare for the challenges ahead?

This session will address:

• What challenges are administrators currently facing and how can we best combat them?
• How can schemes promote best practices to avoid the risks associated with poor administration?
• What will schemes need to address before the dashboard launches and why is delay not an option?
• How can schemes best prepare for other projects such as buyout and GMPE?
• What new regulation is on the horizon for schemes?
  

This is your chance to mingle, connect, and replenish your energy amidst the Admin and Data Forum's vibrant atmosphere. Join us in savouring a spread prepared to elevate your midday experience. Whether you're networking, sharing insights, or simply taking a moment to unwind; Take a plate, and enjoy!