Pension administration solutions

Administration services

• Membership record keeping
• Benefit calculations and payments, including electronic payments
• All regulatory reporting
• Full cash and accounting services, including drafting the annual report and accounts and pooled banking facilities
• Pensioner payroll
• Member helplines
• Member tracing and pensioner existence  

Specialist administration

• Data gap analyses, data verification and data cleansing
• Benefit audits
• Benefit rectifications, including Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) projects
• Member tracing
• Pensions dashboard preparation
• Journey to endgame 

Transaction data readiness

As insurers get busier, they’re looking carefully at the level of preparation work that schemes have carried out and they are keen to engage with schemes that can demonstrate the necessary level of commitment to a transaction. Demonstrating to the risk transfer provider that your scheme’s membership data is of high quality will help your scheme to stand out in a crowded market, and secure competitive pricing on your transaction.

We’re experts in supporting trustees and scheme sponsors on their scheme’s data journey. We understand the steps required to prepare the scheme for a transaction. We can undertake all aspects of the data preparation work – this can be included alongside other Howden services or on a standalone project basis.   

Our services include:  

• Data gap analysis with comprehensive reporting and tailored recommendations, targeting best insurer pricing
• All aspects of data cleanse work and planning to meet your transaction objectives
• Targeted benefit audit
• Data verification exercise to check data with members
• Obtaining marital status and contingent spouse data
• Member tracing and mortality screening

PPF administration

We’re one of the four members of the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) Specialist Administration and Actuarial Services Panel. We provide administration to pension schemes entering a PPF assessment period and prepare them for transfer to the PPF. Our services include:

• Member helpline to support members after the insolvency of their employer
• Pensioner payroll, ensuring continuity of service at the point of insolvency
• Member calculations in line with PPF legislation
• Member announcements and bespoke communications
• Data verification with members
• Data audit and rectification
• Benefit audit and rectification
• Member tracing and pensioner existence
• Preparation of valuation data and scheme accounts
• Transfer of underfunded schemes to the PPF
• Comprehensive preparation for buyout for schemes that are funded above PPF levels

Secure and trusted

Our team holds a gold standard accreditation from Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) for our high quality of pension administration, last completed in March 2024.  

We undertake an annual AAF 01/20 report, covering internal controls in our pension administration area. We recognise that the need for robust data security is crucial and are therefore committed to storing, managing, and protecting client information without compromise. Our report reinforces our commitment to providing a trusted service to clients, together with our PASA accreditation, our Gold Standard award for Investors in Customers, our Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications, and our ISO27001 and ISO9001 certifications.