Standing for election as a Group Trustee

Transcription

1 Standing for election as a Group Trustee Election Booklet UK Power Networks Group of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme Our objective is to work with UK Power Networks to ensure that the Scheme is run properly and benefits are paid as promised

2 Contents 03 Welcome 04 What are the responsibilities of a Group Trustee? 04 What kind of skills are needed for the job? 05 What kind of time commitment does the job require? 05 What is required for the nomination process? 06 What is included in the assessment process? 07 How will the election itself be conducted? 02

3 Welcome We are keen to hear from members who would be interested in fulfilling the role of an Elected Group Trustee. This booklet contains information about the role and explains how and when you can be nominated for it, how and when you will be assessed for it, and how and when the election will be run. However, the booklet is not just for those who might be interested in becoming an Elected Group Trustee. It is important that all members should know how the election process works and be able to see that it is fair and transparent. The ten Group Trustees who are currently responsible for your pension Scheme consist of three Trustees appointed by the Company (Appointed Group Trustees) and seven Trustees elected by members. The latter are known as Elected Group Trustees, and the terms of office for three of them will be ending on 31 December This would reduce the number of our Elected Group Trustees to four. As we have reported in recent editions of Pensions News, it is intended that from 2018 onwards we should have six Elected Group Trustees for the Scheme. This means that we are looking this year to elect two Group members to take up office as Elected Group Trustees on 1 January 2018 for four years ending on 31 December Election process 1 September 2017 Deadline for returning nomination forms 14 September 2017 Candidates attend an Assessment Day 27 October 2017 All members are sent a voting paper, together with job description, details of each candidate, and their election statements 10 November 2017 Deadline for the return of the voting papers to the Electoral Reform Society End November 2017 Successful candidates will be informed of the result. The results will be included in the next newsletter 03

4 What are the responsibilities of a Group Trustee? All the Group Trustees whether appointed by the Company or elected by members have the same responsibilities to protect members pension rights and benefits while also ensuring the financial stability and efficient administration of the Group. They must act impartially, prudently, and honestly, and in the best interests of all members in accordance with the Scheme s governing documents and the wider legal framework for pension schemes. The Trustee role covers all key aspects of running the Group, including making high-level investment strategy decisions, ensuring effective and efficient investment and funding, and making sure that all members receive the correct benefits. Although the Group Trustees are not expected to be experts themselves, it is important that they should be able to critically assess the advice they receive from their professional advisers, and ultimately be ready to take their own independent decisions against that background. I would urge anybody to have a go. If you have just retired, you will find it useful to keep your brain active! If you re still an active member, remember one day you will be a pensioner! What kind of skills are needed for the job? It is not so much specific skills that are needed as general qualities. Of course, running a pension scheme is a complex matter and so a background in law, finance, investments, or accounting will certainly be useful for the job. Equally, if not more, important are common sense and the ability to listen carefully and work constructively as part of a team, strike a sensible balance between competing priorities, and analyse and resolve difficult problems. The Pensions Regulator (the body set up by Parliament to govern pension schemes like ours) requires all new Elected Group Trustees to acquire the working knowledge needed for the role within six months of taking office. Although training is provided, it is obviously important to have the right candidates coming forward in the first place, which is why our Trustee elections include a process for assessing candidates (more details are given on page 6). 04

5 What kind of time commitment does the job require? The Group Trustees usually hold at least four full Board meetings a year, and additional ad hoc meetings may be called (particularly during an actuarial valuation process, which occurs every three years). A Trustee is also expected to serve on at least one of the Board s two standing committees the Funding Committee and the Operations Committee each of which also meets at least four times a year. The training sessions and committee meetings are held at our advisers premises and at UKPN offices mostly in Central London. Clearly, therefore, being an Elected Group Trustee does represent quite a significant time commitment in terms of preparing for and attending meetings, and taking part in training courses. If you are an active member, your work as a Trustee is considered to be acceptable Company business and time off to attend meetings and training sessions will usually be granted. If you have a business critical role, please discuss this with your line manager before submitting your nomination. The Elected Group Trustees each receive an annual allowance and all reasonable travelling expenses for their duties in connection with their Trustee activities. What is required for the nomination process? The deadline this year for returning completed nomination forms is 1 September If you are interested in standing for election as a Trustee, you will need to get a nomination form from the Scheme Secretary, whose contact details are at the end of this booklet, and make sure that you complete and return the form by the deadline date. In addition to basic information, such as your date of birth and length of service with the Company (or any of its predecessors), you must confirm that you are an ESPS member. You may also submit, if you wish, a personal photograph and a personal election statement of up to 300 words. 05

6 What is included in the assessment process? All nominated candidates (including any Trustee who is standing for re-election) must attend an Assessment Day. This will include an introductory training session, a case study, and a suitability interview, and will be conducted by an independent professional trustee company, which will act as the Assessor. The day will be designed to be informative and constructive for everyone attending, with the aim of ensuring that all candidates, whether going forward to the next stage or not, will have had a positive experience from taking part. The Assessment Day this year is scheduled to be held on 14 September Each candidate will be informed within two weeks of the Assessor s view of whether he or she is suitably qualified for the role of Group Trustee. Anyone considered not currently suitable will be given reasons, and will have a week in which to submit any comments about the assessment process. The Group Trustees will then hold a special meeting in early October to consider the results of the process and whether they should or should not confirm the Assessor s recommendations. I first applied to become a Trustee in 2013 and went through the Assessment Day, including the somewhat daunting exam! I needn t have been nervous, as it was based on the discussions and briefings we had already undertaken during the morning of that day, including our own written notes on each topic. The process was friendly, helpful and informative - and importantly, it didn t put me off from applying! 06

7 And finally, how will the election itself be conducted? All candidates confirmed as suitably qualified, and who still wish to stand, will go forward to the election process for the office of Elected Group Trustee. Voting papers containing key details of each of the candidates, along with photographs and personal election statements, will be issued to members at their home address by 27 October. Members will then have two weeks in which to vote, either online, by telephone or by prepaid post. Voting papers will be checked by the Electoral Reform Society. They will count the votes on the single transferable vote system, which allows members to vote for candidates in order of preference, and each candidate will be informed of the results in early December. Requests for a nomination form, for a copy of the legal rules on which this booklet is based, or for any other information about the election process should be addressed to: Secretary to the Group Trustees (Chris Baker), Energy House, Hazelwick Avenue, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1EX pensionelection@ukpowernetworks.co.uk Alternatively, the nomination form can be downloaded from: ESPSNomination2017.pdf 07

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