The Broadcast is our series of podcasts looking at the latest news and topics covering pensions, investments, employee benefits, insurance and more. It is hosted by our very own Broadstone specialists who are often joined by leading experts across their industries.
Welcome To The Broadcast
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Our guest in this edition is John Ronayne, Lead Data Scientist at YuLife. John talks to Brett Hill about an exciting research project exploring the links between gamification, reward mechanisms, workforce wellbeing and future health outcomes, and what it could mean for employers and the wider employee benefits industry.
In this episode our hosts David Brooks and Simon Kew are joined by Jade Murray, Partner at Addleshaw Goddard LLP, discussing a wide range of trending pensions topics from Section 37 to Surpluses and Trustee Dynamics.
When Kier Starmer warned us to prepare for the Autumn budget to be ‘painful’ on October 30th it made already stretched households anxious about where we might feel the pain. So, what does this mean for employers and employees? Invariably, this can bring a sense of unease to workers and employers are being asked to lead from the front to bring a sense of calm. Helping employees navigate a painful budget will require empathy and strategic planning but should reap rewards when it comes to productivity, job satisfaction and loyalty. This podcast aims to give practical insights on how to support your employees through this time.
Join us to listen to the thoughts of Jon Darby at Bluecrest Wellness, in understanding the critical role health checks can play in the first line of defence against serious chronic illnesses and most importantly the ability to identify modifiable risk factors, which can improve the future health journey of your employees.
In this episode of The Broadcast, our host Simon Kew is joined by Erika Parker, Senior Consultant & Actuary from our Insurance, Regulatory & Risk team, to discuss funeral plans. We explore what a funeral plan is, the role of a funeral plan actuary, and what the future looks like for the funeral plan market.
Hear the thoughts of our special guest Gordon Wishart, founder and Chief Medical Officer of Check4Cancer, as he talks to Brett Hill and Emily Jones about the scale of the current challenges facing UK cancer care, what the future might hold, and what it all means for those employers funding employee healthcare benefits.
Our host David Brooks is joined by our very own David Hamilton, Chief Actuary and Marc Devereux, Head of Investment Consulting to discuss one of the newest concepts to the pensions industry, Run-on. We explore what it means, what makes it attractive, the challenges associated with it and discuss whether it would be a viable option for smaller schemes. We also touch upon our thoughts on productive finance.
Our hosts Brett Hill and Emily Jones are joined by Sharon Harwood-Davis, Broadstone Client Consulting Director and specialist in Health Trusts, to explore this growing sector in the UK employee benefits market, and to ask what employers need to think about when considering whether a Health Trust might be the best way to fund employee medical benefits.
In this episode, our hosts David Brooks and Simon Kew are joined by Jerry Moriarty, CEO of the Irish Association of Pension Funds and Chairperson of PensionsEurope. We explore what the Irish pensions landscape is currently looking like, covering auto-enrolment, demographic changes, productive finance, retirement commissions and dashboards. We also discuss examples of good practice across Europe and where the UK might look for ideas.
Our host David Brooks is joined by Roshni Sakaria from L&G and Jonathan Hazlett from Osborne Clarke, as well as our very own Mark Channon. In this episode, we discuss what’s been occurring in the buy-out market for the last twelve months and what to look forward to in the future.
Our hosts Simon Kew and David Brooks are joined by Chris Rice to discuss all things PPI, from the Lifetime Provider Model analysis to challenges associated within the Pensions Industry as well as Pensions Engagement.
Host David Brooks is joined by Louisa Harrold from Zedra, Andy Palmer from BDO and our very own Chris Rice to chat through the decision making for trustees approaching buy-out and the use of insurer covenant reviews in that process.
It’s the first episode of 2024 and our hosts David Brooks and Simon Kew are joined by Carolyn Saunders, Partner at Dentons. In this episode, we discuss a variety of important topics that have been hitting the pensions trustee agenda throughout the past few months including the General Code, Funding Regulations, Productive Finance, and Pension Commission.
In this episode our host Simon is joined by special guest Chloe Taylor, the first CEO of Quietroom. We discuss how to communicate with members, understanding metrics to predict how a message will land and the occasionally blurry line between guidance and advice.
Our hosts David and Simon are joined by Professional Trustee Sarah Brennan, from Dalriada Trustees, to discuss recent developments in EDI and how Trustees can address this.
This time David is joined by Kim Gubler and Lesley Carline directors at KGC, two legends of pensions administration who have championed the cause, give their thoughts in a wide ranging discussion on administration. Essential listening for those working in administration and Trustees.
This time our host David Brooks is joined by Kim Muddimer, a Professional Support Lawyer at Shoosmiths, to discuss some interesting recent Pensions Ombudsman cases and their implications for conflicts of interest and governance, governance, governance.
In this episode our host David Brooks is joined by Donna Walsh Head of Master Trust at Standard Life and David Pye a Client Consulting Director at Broadstone. We discuss the journey and future of Master Trust schemes and the challenge of Value for Members.
Our hosts David Brooks, Head of Policy, and Rachel Meadows, Head of Pensions & Saving at Broadstone, host another conversation.
This time we have a wide ranging discussion with our first returning guest Margaret Snowdown OBE, to talk the latest on PSIG’s Guidance and also get her reaction to Budget 2023 and Pensions Dashboards.
Rachel also busts the myth that people can be too old to start a pension.
This is also a sad episode as it’s the last with Rachel. Good luck for the future Rachel.
In this episode our hosts David and Rachel are joined by the legendary Margaret Snowdon OBE to talk about the latest on pension scams, including the latest work from the Pension Scams Industry Group and the government to fight scams.
This is the first of two planned conversations with Margaret, with a second being arranged for a little later this year.
Margaret also helps bust the myth that a pension scam is easy to spot.
This time our hosts David and Rachel are joined by Steve Charlton who is Head of DC & Solutions for EMEA/Asia at SEI, a master trust provider.
We discuss SEI’s latest research on the concept of pension ownership as a route to better member outcomes.
You can read the research in full here.
We also look at the myth that employer’s are taking responsibility for paying enough into your pension.
This time our hosts David and Rachel are joined by Broadstone’s Head of Administration Gavin Giles to talk all things admin.
They talk about the challenges facing administration, the range of career options and Broadstone’s recent Professional Pensions survey success.
Finally Gavin helps us to bust the myth the good administration is easy.
In our sixth episode of The Broadcast our hosts Dave and Rachel are joined by Jonathan Bland – Head Geek at Pension Geeks – for a lively discussion about the upcoming Pension Awareness Campaign and the launch of the brand new Pension Engagement Season. Amidst cost of living and inflation pressures, we consider whether pension engagement is still important to have on the agenda.
Our Myth of the Month that we tackle follows on from our conversation, looking to bust the idea that “Reducing my pension contributions is an easy way to boost my pay during the cost of living crisis.”
Our fifth episode of The Broadcast see our hosts Rachel and Dave tackle the issue of high inflation and the cost of living crisis and their combined impact on pensions and savings. We’re also joined by Danny Meehan Head of Workplace Savings at Cushon.
As usual, we also bust our myth of the month which this time is that pensions are boring! You’ll want to listen to that for a burst of positivity about pensions and also eaglets.
Following a short break our podcast on pensions and savings has returned. In Episode 4 of The Broadcast our hosts Rachel Meadows and David Brooks are joined by Chris Halewood, Trustee Director from 20-20 Trustees, for a wide-ranging discussion on the member communication challenge. Rachel and David also discuss the impact the war in Ukraine on pension savers and pension schemes. Our Myth of the Month this time is “Property is my pension”.
In Episode 3 of The Broadcast our hosts Rachel Meadows and David Brooks are joined by Kim Jones, pensions lawyer from Freeths, to talk about Merger and Acquisitions and the pension considerations. Rachel and David also discuss the impact of inflation and the National Insurance increase and discuss the Myth of the Month “Annuities are rubbish”.
In this episode David and Rachel are joined by Nick Brazier, Senior Corporate Benefits Consultant at Broadstone, to discuss the challenge of youth when it comes to pension saving. Our hosts also talk about The Pension Regulator’s Diversity Strategy, and the ‘Myth of the Month’ looks at whether pensions can be lost.
In this episode David and Rachel are joined by Marc Devereux, Head of Investment Consulting at Broadstone, to talk about ESG. Our hosts also talk about auto-enrolment for multiple jobholders and pension scams. In addition, the ‘Myth of the Month’ looks at state pensions.