FAQs for Trustees
Who is Pension Insurance Corporation?
Pension Insurance Corporation ('PIC'), part of the Pension Corporation group, is an FSA authorised and regulated insurance company. It was established to provide insurance to defined benefit pension schemes. Pension insurance can provide an attractive option to defined benefit pension fund trustees, beneficiaries and sponsors alike, allowing them to remove or reduce a scheme's liabilities. PIC has provided safety and security through insurance to 50,000 pension scheme members.
Are the pensions insured by PIC safe?
PIC is an FSA authorised and regulated insurance company, which is required to understand at all times the full scale of its commitments and hold more than sufficient assets to meet them. In addition, the conservative investment strategy followed by PIC will mean benefits are secured for the long-term.
Who are PIC's existing clients?
Our clients include pension funds associated with:
- FTSE 100 companies, such as Cadbury and Liberty International
- Multinationals, such as Aggregate Industries and Denso
- The public sector such as the former DEFRA backed body Food From Britain
- Private equity owned companies such as Warwick International
- Pension schemes in the PPF assessment period, such as UK Can and Alitalia
We have transacted both the UK's largest and the first public sector-backed pension insurance buyouts.
To find out more, please visit the Clients and Case studies sections on our website.
How do I know the members of my scheme will be treated fairly?
When PIC commits to insuring a pension scheme, it agrees to provide levels of financial security over and above those required by the FSA. This commitment crucially extends to ensuring that our policyholders receive the highest levels of administrative support and customer service available.
For example the quality of service PIC provides to transitioning pension fund members and our policyholders is a key focus for the PIC management team and is formally reported at every PIC Board and Audit Committee meeting.
We have developed a highly effective communication strategy for members, spanning the entire transition period from contract signing, through the wind-up process and into annuity administration.
For example, PIC:
- Receives monthly service reports from its administrator, Xafinity Paymaster, and carries out independent file and call monitoring
- Constantly monitors our systems to ensure the right pensions are paid to the right people at the right time
- Has in place a transparent and accountable process to evaluate performance and make improvements where required
These ensure that PIC is delivering a superior level of customer service to its policyholders.
You can find the FSA's TCF Guiding Principles on the FSA website, or here.
Who is Xafinity Paymaster?
Xafinity Paymaster is a specialist pension administration service provider. They presently pay around two million people each month with benefits totalling £7 billion each year.
You will have heard of some of their other customers. They currently pay pensions for schemes such as GlaxoSmithKline, Coors Brewers and the NHS.
Xafinity Paymaster have a team of people based in the UK dedicated to supporting PIC customers. They are trained in all aspects of administering and supporting pension scheme members and their benefits.
There is a lot of work required to administer an annuity. This includes payment of monthly annuity amounts, maintenance of personal contact and bank or building society details, and the generation of correspondence and annual statements. To ensure that PIC customers are provided the best available service, PIC has outsourced this service to Paymaster.
What is the FSA?
Pension Insurance Corporation is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under FRN 454345
The FSA is an independent non-governmental body, quasi-judicial body and a company limited by guarantee that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. The FSA oversees insurance companies to ensure they hold sufficient funds to make payments to policyholders.
The FSA's initiative for protecting consumers, Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), outlines six guiding principles on how to engage with our policyholders. As the basis for the high quality of our customer service, PIC follows the relevant aspects of these principles. They govern how we communicate with customers, the level of service we provide and the fairness of our products and procedures.
A more detailed overview of our customer service commitments can be found under Treating Customers Fairly.
The FSA's contact details are:
Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HS
Phone: 0845 600 2537
Website: www.fsa.gov.uk
