Employer Covenant Reviews - Trustee Services

In the current climate of widespread defined benefit scheme deficits, and the requirement by the Pensions Regulator for deficits to be recovered as soon as possible, trustees of schemes find themselves living in interesting times.  Their duty is to look after members interests, but this needs to be balanced against employers who may be cash limited in the current economic environment.

Trustees therefore have a balancing act to undertake, and an assessment of the employer covenant is a critical part of the decision making process for trustees.

ClashStreetCo undertakes truly independent employer assessments, giving trustees full understanding of the covenant strength and the confidence to make the best decisions. We typically carry out our employer covenant reviews in-depth, going beyond published information and including site visits and discussions with senior management.  We can however also undertake desk-top reviews where appropriate.  We will agree in advance with our instructors (trustees, sponsoring employer or actuary) the most appropriate level of review for the pension scheme's circumstances.  We back all this up with reasoned recommendations and positive actions plans .

Further support

We believe the role of the adviser should not automatically end with the submission of a report, and that trustees will often appreciate further support. As a result we also provide:

• Impact Assessments - to assess the impact on the covenant of employer actions from acquisitions, to site closure or dividend payments
• interim monitoring services
• negotiation support
• Key Performance Indicator (kpi) setting and reviewing
• certification of contingent assets

 

Request a Covenant Review leaflet