Please note: this programme is subject to change

Programme

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Registration and Breakfast
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Welcome and Opening Remarks
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DB Planning in a Changing Landscape
With many DB schemes now in stronger funding positions, the focus for trustees and employers is increasingly shifting from deficit recovery to endgame planning. The Pension Schemes Act 2026, the DWP’s consultation on surplus flexibilities and forthcoming TPR guidance are also shaping discussions around long-term objectives, surplus release and trustee decision-making.

This opening keynote will set the scene for the day, exploring how the DB landscape is evolving, what these developments mean for endgame planning, and how expectations on trustees are changing as schemes consider their next steps.
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Navigating the Final Mile: Getting from Buy-in to Buyout
As more schemes reach the later stages of their endgame journey, the period between buy-in and full buyout is becoming an increasingly important focus. While buy-in is a major milestone, schemes can still face significant legal, financial and administrative hurdles before the final transfer to buyout is complete.

This session will explore how trustees and sponsors can prepare for buyout, avoid unnecessary delays and ensure a smoother transition for members.

This session will address:
  • The key challenges schemes face between buy-in and buyout
  • How to prepare data, benefits and documentation effectively
  • Legal, administrative and financial issues that can delay completion
  • Hidden costs and residual risks trustees should be aware of
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Networking Break
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Unlocking Surplus: Legal Clarity in Practice
As DB schemes continue to see improved funding positions, questions around the use and distribution of surplus are becoming increasingly relevant for trustees and sponsors. However, surplus decisions depend on a range of legal and practical factors, including scheme rules, trustee powers, the source of surplus, historic benefit decisions and employer contributions.

Using case studies and practical examples, this session will explore how trustees can approach surplus decision-making with clarity and confidence. It will examine the legal principles that shape available options and highlight how robust processes can support fair, well-informed and defensible outcomes.

This session will address:
  • How case law and scheme rules shape surplus decision-making
  • The legal factors trustees should consider when assessing surplus options
  • Lessons from practical surplus-sharing case studies
  • How to structure a clear and robust decision-making process
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    Changing Course? When Buyout-Ready Schemes Reassess Their Endgame Strategy

    As funding levels improve and surplus reform moves closer, some DB schemes are reassessing endgame strategies that were originally designed around buyout. For schemes that have spent years becoming buyout-ready, revisiting run-on can raise important questions around investment strategy, governance, risk appetite and long-term objectives.

    This session will explore what changes when trustees and consider run-on after preparing for buyout, and how schemes can assess whether a longer-term strategy is appropriate for their circumstances.

    This session will address:

    • What changes when a buyout-ready scheme reassesses run-on
    • How investment strategy may need to evolve beyond a buyout-focused portfolio
    • Assessing risk, covenant and time horizon when changing course
    • Balancing member security with sponsor objectives and long-term value

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    Lunch
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    Superfunds: New Players, New Options and the Evolving Market

    As the DB endgame market continues to develop, superfunds are becoming an increasingly important area for trustees and sponsors to understand. With new players entering the space, the superfund regime progressing and small scheme offerings beginning to emerge, the market is moving beyond theory and into a more practical phase.

    This session will explore the current state of the superfund market, the options now available to schemes and how new developments could broaden access to consolidation for smaller DB schemes.

    This session will address:

    • The current state of the superfund market
    • New players and emerging consolidation models
    • What recent market developments could mean for trustees and sponsors
    • Small scheme offerings and how access to consolidation may evolve
    • How superfunds compare with other endgame options
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    Realising Opportunity: What Success Looks Like in the Next Era of DB

    The DB market has spent years focused on risk reduction, funding deficits and securing benefits. Today, many schemes find themselves in a position few would have predicted a decade ago: stronger funding, greater flexibility and more options than ever before.

    As the industry moves beyond simply managing liabilities, new opportunities are emerging around surplus, member outcomes, innovation and long-term value creation. This closing session will explore what success looks like in the next chapter of DB pensions and where the greatest opportunities lie for schemes, sponsors and members alike.

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      Closing Remarks