LONDON, February 21, 2024 – LifeSight, WTW’s UK defined contribution (DC) master trust, has been appointed by electricity distribution network operator, Electricity North West to be master trust provider to all its UK DC pension scheme members.
The scheme has nearly 2,750 members and £140m in assets under management. Having been appointed by Electricity North West following a comprehensive competitive tender, LifeSight went live for all active members in October 2023, with all assets and remaining members transitioning into LifeSight’s funds before the end of 2023.
As part of a comprehensive member onboarding programme, the LifeSight team visited the company’s main sites and delivered multiple roadshows for its members during summer 2023. The roadshows were tailored for Electricity North West and provided demonstrations of the new LifeSight services and specific information about the new scheme and investment options. This created a foundation of strong engagement and positive endorsement among the membership.
The company also arranged for the dedicated LifeSight app to be automatically downloaded from app stores onto every eligible employee’s company mobile phone, to encourage members to engage with LifeSight’s digital services from the outset.
Colin Ross, Group Pensions Manager at Electricity North West, said: “As part of the move from our occupational DC pension scheme to the LifeSight master trust, we embarked on a thorough consultation process, engaging with our employees, existing trustees, trade unions and recognised employee forums to make sure members’ needs were fully reflected in any changes.
“The roadshows delivered by the LifeSight team were vital to make sure that all our pension scheme members had access to the same information, guidance and understanding about the changes taking place. We have a large number of members who are not fully office-based, so we were pleased that LifeSight offered the flexibility to help us ensure that everyone was fully engaged with these important and positive pension changes.
“Another important consideration which impressed us when choosing LifeSight was the excellent value and innovation offered by their investments and their ability to drive down investment costs using scale, passing those savings directly back to members.”
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Electricity North West and its members to provide them with confidence and security in their retirement savings.”
Jelena Croad | Head of LifeSight UK, WTW
Jelena Croad, Head of LifeSight UK, said: “Electricity North West has put engagement and value at the forefront of its move to a DC master trust. The roadshow programme was a great part of the onboarding process and its decision to automatically download the LifeSight app onto everyone’s company mobile phone really gave a boost to engagement levels right from the beginning. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Electricity North West and its members to provide them with confidence and security in their retirement savings.”
The addition of Electricity North West’s membership means LifeSight now has approximately 360,000 members with £17bn in assets under management secured.
LifeSight is WTW’s master trust, a defined contribution multi-employer pension trust for employers who would benefit from high-quality, low-risk, market-competitive pension provision without the governance burden.
Running a defined contribution pension scheme is becoming complex and costly for a lot of employers. Governance is growing ever more onerous and schemes now have new pension flexibilities to contend with. Companies want to find a high-quality alternative that has their employees’ needs at heart. LifeSight offers the best attributes of a trust in an outsourced arrangement. Our unique solution looks after the day-to-day running of the scheme, whilst an independent trustee board looks after the interests of your members.
LifeSight gives you access to our leading-edge digitalised platform, including the award-winning ageOmeter tool, and administration services. Combined with our proven expertise in investments and communications, LifeSight is the complete package.
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.
Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success.
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