The Trustees meet regularly throughout the year and receive specialist advice as required. This includes advice from investment managers, auditors, solicitors and actuaries. Details of the Trustees and their advisers are given in the Annual Report and Accounts. A copy of the Annual Report and Accounts may be held in the Resources section of this website. If not, then you can obtain a copy from the Scheme Administrators via the details in the Contact us page of this website. 

At least one third of the Trustee Directors must be elected by the Members.

ITS has been the sole professional trustee director of the Trustee company since September 2017, and, as a result, is responsible for the day to-day operation of the Scheme. More broadly, ITS works with around 170 pension schemes in the UK.

Chris Martin and Tegolin (“Tegs”) Harding are the lead ITS representatives on the Scheme, and, with support from the

Trustee’s professional advisors, they oversee the administration of benefits and the direction of the schemes’ investment and funding strategies. They are also responsible for the Trustee’s communications with Atos, and with the schemes’ members. Both Chris and Tegs bring a wealth of pensions experience to the role built up from similar trustee appointments and wider commercial activities, and you can read more on their backgrounds via the following web-link https://itslimited.co.uk/

Whilst Trustee meetings are scheduled to take place on a quarterly basis the appointment of ITS as the sole professional trustee director introduces greater flexibility, ensuring that decisions can also be taken between these meetings at short notice (after having taken appropriate advice) when necessary. At a typical quarterly meeting Chris and Tegs consider the current status of the key risks that the schemes face (and the ongoing effectiveness of the mitigations that are in place), recent developments in the scheme’s funding positions, and any changes in legislation that could impact on the scheme, as well as receiving reports from the Trustee’s committees. Representatives from Atos also regularly attend the quarterly meetings.

The size of the 2019 scheme means that there is a significant amount of work for the Trustee and its professional advisors to address. To ensure that this work is completed as efficiently as possible the Trustee has delegated certain activities to its two committees, the Administration and Governance Committee (the “AGC”) and the Investment and Funding Committee (the “IFC”).

The AGC meets once every two months and is chaired by John Lovell of ITS as the Trustee’s chosen ITS representative. John has many years of experience in the pensions industry and across a number of ITS clients. Helen Gray also provides representation from Atos UK. The AGC monitors the administration services provided by HYMANS, and considers individual member issues. The AGC also oversees the preparation of the scheme’s Report and Accounts each year, and the annual audit process undertaken by KPMG. At each meeting the AGC will receive an update from HYMANS regarding the payment of contributions made by Atos UK, and, once a quarter, will consider detailed reporting from HYMANS on its administration activities. The IFC meets quarterly, and is chaired by Chris Martin (with Tegs also attending each meeting). The IFC is responsible for the design and implementation of the Trustee’s investment strategy (having first consulted Atos as required by law), the appointment of the underlying investment managers, and the ongoing monitoring of the managers’ performance against the agreed objectives. The IFC also co-ordinates the Trustee’s approach to actuarial valuations, and leads the discussions with Atos UK representatives regarding the funding requirements for each of the schemes.

 

The Atos UK 2019 Pension Scheme administrators

The administrators help with any general enquiries about your benefits.

The Trustee, the Company and the scheme administrators can provide you with information about the Scheme. However, they cannot offer you advice which is specific to your circumstances.

If you need advice, we recommend that you speak to a financial adviser. For details of an adviser near you, visit www.unbiased.co.uk