The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) is launching a new accreditation regime for lay trustees. This follows the highly successful accreditation programme for professional trustees, APTitude that was that launched last year.
The accreditation will be announced as part of a roundtable discussion at the Trustee Workbench event.
To achieve accreditation, applicants will be required to complete the Pensions Regulator’s Trustee Toolkit and both parts of the PMI’s Certificate of Pension Trusteeship. This sets a high bar, ensuring that accredited lay trustees demonstrate professional standards.
Each year, lay trustees will be required to complete 15 hours of relevant Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and to complete any new or updated modules in TPR’s Trustee Toolkit to maintain their accredited status.
The accreditation has been developed to enable lay trustees to demonstrate a high degree of competence in driving best practice decision-making and so they can navigate the complex challenges of modern scheme governance. It builds on the PMI’s 45 years of experience promoting education and learning standards for pension trustees.
The initial cost of accreditation will be GBP300 per applicant. The annual cost of renewal will be GBP150 for PMI members and GBP300 for others. These costs are net of VAT.
Accredited trustees will receive an annual certificate and have the option of being listed on an online register. They will be allowed to use the designation LTPMI (accred).
Gareth Tancred, CEO of the Pensions Management Institute, says: “As the official qualifications provider for pension trustees, we’ve created this new accreditation to help raise standards and promote excellence within the industry. Our accreditation programme for lay trustees is built to professional trusteeship standards. We’re committed to maintaining the strength of this accreditation by continuing to meet the ongoing development needs of trustees.”
David Weeks, Co-Chair, Association of Member Nominated Trustees, says: “AMNT members are recognised across the occupational pensions sector for the experience and commitment that they bring to good scheme governance. The Pensions Regulator’s recent consultation exercise confirmed the widespread support for the MNT role that exists across the industry. AMNT now welcomes PMI’s new accreditation scheme, which gives formal parity of esteem between lay and specialist trustees. We look forward to working with PMI to see how best to put the scheme into operation.”
