PMI Health Group were introduced to us through a mutual contact. Like many employers, they had a legacy pension arrangement that on the face of it seemed to meet their needs.

Before being appointed, we undertook a comprehensive investigation into the current arrangement at no cost, providing the Board with all the information required to make an informed decision on the way forward.

The report found that there was little member engagement. The engagement tended to be at outset, when an employee joined the scheme, with little further contact for the majority of employees. In addition, we recommended improvements to where and how money was invested, the investment charges and identified that no scheme governance was in place.

We’ve had some great feedback from staff and are confident that we’re now getting the best possible value from our company pension scheme. Richard Munro, Managing Director

Following our report and recommendations, we were appointed to work with the Company to improve the pension arrangement for all parties. We recommended a change of pension provider to Aegon. The new arrangement offered much broader opportunities for investment, internet access for employer and employee, and resulted in investment costs being reduced by 30% for all members.

We worked closely with PMI in managing the change, taking ownership of the change programme and managing communication. An initial announcement was followed quickly by group presentations for all staff. To answer any individual concerns and ensure employees were clear on the benefits of the change, we held 1:1 meetings with all employees.

We introduced a system of salary exchange, providing employees with enhanced pension contributions of up to 25%.

A Governance programme is underpinned by a Service Level Agreement that ensures we are held to account for the services we deliver. This also ensures that the scheme is benchmarked in terms of investment performance and service delivery. Through Governance, the company is also kept fully abreast of all relevant pensions’ legislation to ensure continued best practice.

I’ve just come out of my pension meeting with Chris and wanted to pass on how good he is – because my personal circumstances have changed significantly, he gave me tons of advice about various things, not just the pension.  He is so helpful and friendly, pension meetings don’t seem quite so daunting anymore.  Helen Williams, Customer Services Manager, PMI Health Group.

As a result of the member meetings, we have now held three meetings with each employee. They now have much more confidence in their pension planning, and crucially, understand what they need to do to secure adequate retirement income.

Many have elected to contribute more than the basic minimum required, our Consultants are warmly received for annual reviews, and a number of employees have taken personal advice outside the field of pensions.

Based upon their own experience, PMI, a provider of healthcare services to the corporate market, have now introduced us to a number of their clients.