Aegon UK’s Independent Governance Committee (IGC) was set up in April 2015.
The role of an IGC is to act independently of their pension provider as a customer advocate by reviewing whether workplace pensions provide value for money, challenging providers accordingly. The IGC makes recommendations to Aegon UK’s Board of Directors regarding value for money for workplace pension scheme members.
To protect your interests, the IGC has a blend of skills and experience from across the pensions industry. This includes legal, pension scheme governance and actuarial expertise from the independent members and insight into Aegon UK’s business model and its customers from the Aegon UK IGC representatives. Together, the expertise and experience makes sure the IGC is able to make judgements on the value of money for Aegon UK’s workplace pension scheme members.
The IGC published it's seventh report in September 2023. You can read this, and the previous reports, by downloading from the menu below.
Who is on Aegon UK’s IGC?
Aegon UK’s IGC is chaired by Ian Pittaway and including Ian is made up of five members; three independent members and two Aegon UK members.
Ian acts for a number of pension schemes as legal advisor and has gained extensive pensions law experience on a wide range of issues. Ian is an expert on governance and often advises Trustee Boards on the most effective way to approach and take decisions. He is chairman of trustees or independent trustee of a number of pension schemes. He is also a former Chairman of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and a former Chairman and Secretary of the Association of Pension Lawyers.
Alison joined ZEDRA Governance Ltd as a full time professional trustee in 2015, then known as PTL Governance Ltd, after a 25 year career in pensions consultancy as an actuary. Alison acts as trustee to a number of DB and DC pension schemes, and is a leading member of ZEDRA's Governance Advisory Arrangement which acts as an IGC to assess value for money for the workplace pension schemes and investment pathways of a large number of smaller providers. Alison holds the PMI Certificate in DC Governance as well as being an accredited professional pension trustee and a member of the Council of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.
Helen Parker has 30 years’ experience working on consumer issues, first in executive roles and now as a non-executive. Helen was a member of the senior leadership team of Which?, Europe’s largest independent consumer organisation, for more than a decade. Helen now has a number of non-executive roles with a focus on consumer engagement and protection. She is a non-executive director of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which protects consumers when authorised financial services firms fail, and is also a non-executive committee member of Healthwatch England, the independent national champion for people who use health and social care services.
Tim is responsible for the operations, governance and development of the Aegon UK Investment estate. Tim is an Actuary by profession and has 30 years' experience in financial services. He's held a number of senior roles across insurance and investment businesses and has a deep understanding of investment funds and markets . Tim's main focus is on the design and performance of the investment options including defaults and Pathway Investments and how they provide value for money to members.
Andy is responsible for the development and marketing of propositions across workplace, wealth and protection channels. Andy has over 25 years of experience in the industry across a range of marketing, operations and distribution roles. He joined Aegon from KPMG in 2016 where he was a management consultant working with insurers, advisers and asset managers to drive strategic change. Prior to this, Andy held a number of senior roles at Standard Life. Andy brings a deep understanding of Aegons' business and its ambition to transform member outcomes embedding financial wellbeing at the heart of its business. He is ensuring that the products Aegon offer deliver value for money and that the right communications are in place to connect all members with their savings to help them get the most out of it.
Ian and Alison are corporate IGC members. This means they're employed by companies which provide professional independent services, and Aegon UK’s service contract is with the company rather than the individual.
Ian and Alison are also members of the Board of the Aegon Master Trust (AMT). A Master Trust is a multi-employer occupational scheme where each employer has its own division within the master arrangement. There is one legal trust and therefore one trustee board. The Trustee retains decision making independence for each division on things such as investment and service providers under a trust wide governance structure. Master Trusts offer employers the benefit of a governance function but with generally lower operating costs, greater simplicity and expediency than a single employer scheme.
We believe the IGC and AMT share common goals and objectives to ensure customers are receiving value for money, therefore there are clear benefits to having individuals who are members of both the IGC and Master Trust.
Terms of Reference
Read the Terms of Reference applicable to our IGC.
Value for money principles
The IGC has developed its own value for money principles to reflect Aegon UK’s book of business. These value for money principles reflect research amongst Aegon UK’s customers and also amongst broader consumers which asked what they regarded as key to value for money.
The findings showed that as well as looking for low charges and good returns on their investments, customers want a choice of funds, which are responsive to the appetite for investment risk they have and that they want to be able to keep track of their policy’s performance online. These are all reflected in the principles.
Next steps
If you're a member of a workplace pension scheme with Aegon UK, then the IGC’s work is important to you. Aegon UK and its IGC work together to make sure workplace pension schemes offer value for money in line with the principles the IGC has developed.
Future IGC reports will be published on an annual basis.
