Independent Governance Committee
The spread of Covid-19 has impacted our society in a way no one could have imagined. It is a deeply unsettling time for us all, and therefore a critical time for the Independent Governance Committee to ensure that Aegon continues to offer you value for money including protecting the financial interests of all its customers.
We fully support the quick actions taken by Aegon to protect staff and customers. Since the closure of the Aegon offices on 24th March 2020, we have had regular updates and discussions with Aegon to understand the actions being taken to continue to provide you with the service you require.
Although responding to the pace of this crisis has proven to be very challenging, we have seen a quick and thorough response by Aegon. Within four weeks of closing their offices they have delivered a fully remote service, running at full capacity, with all key processes maintained and performing well through the crisis. In addition we are encouraged by the ongoing developments to enhance the digital capability and increase the contact options customers have.
We have been reassured that Aegon remains in a financially strong and stable position, with business risk and market volatility being scenarios that Aegon plan for as part of their usual business processes.
Aegon has launched a dedicated Coronavirus guidance hub where you can find all the latest information on how they can support you during these uncertain times. The hub covers a wide range of topics including how you can contact Aegon, the impact of market volatility and how the Covid-19 crisis may impact the contributions made by you and your employer. We encourage you to take time to read this material along with the response to the questions of most importance which Aegon is being asked by employers.
Unfortunately we're hearing of an increase in pension scams in the UK as scammers take advantage of the current situation. To help protect yourself from these pension scams, we provided some guidance in our latest annual report. In addition Aegon has also published a helpful article on How to identify fraudulent activity which we encourage you to read.
Although the future remains uncertain we are confident that Aegon is working hard to make sure it continues to have all the right measures in place to support you during this crisis. We will continue to work closely with them throughout this period, and wish you and the Aegon team well during this difficult time.
Ian Pittaway, Chairman of Aegon’s Independent Governance Committee
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 fifth report in April 2020. You can read this, and the previous reports, by downloading from the menu on your right.
The following video is about IGC introduction video and has a transcript (see below).
View video transcript 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 his firm’s independent trustee company and 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 PTL as a full time professional trustee in 2015, 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 PTL’s Governance Advisory Arrangement which acts as an IGC to assess value for money for the workplace pension schemes of a large number of smaller providers. Alison holds the PMI Certificate in DC Governance and now serves on the committee that oversees the syllabus and examinations for the qualification.
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.
Ronnie is responsible for leading Aegon’s growth across both workplace and wealth channels. Ronnie has over 20 years of experience in the industry and is an actuary by profession. Having worked in a variety of senior roles across the pensions industry, Ronnie has a wealth of experience of, and insight into, the pensions industry, which he uses to ensure that Aegon is giving you value for money. Ronnie’s main focus is on member engagement and communications. He is ensuring that Aegon is devoting sufficient financial and physical resources to understand what is important to workplace 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, Alison and Ronnie 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
The Terms of Reference applicable to our IGC are available here.
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.
Get in touch
The IGC is particularly keen to hear from workplace pension members. If you'd like to contact the IGC, you can get in touch by email at igc@aegon.co.uk.
If contacting us by email, please don't include any personal, financial, or banking information as email isn’t a secure method of communication. If you decide to send information in this way, you’re doing so at your own risk as there’s no guarantee that any email sent by you to us will be received or remain private during transmission. Where secure online journeys are available, please login to complete these.
