Aga Rangemaster: case study

Part of the process of achieving this will be the use of the Pfaroe modelling software by its trustees and company directors.

The fund is closed to new members, but open to future accrual with the proviso that current member pensionable salaries are frozen.

William McGrath, chief executive officer of Aga Rangemaster and a trustee of its £759m pension fund explained how the use of modelling software has transformed decision making.

“At the moment the impact has been on the quality of the discussion," he added."Everybody knows pretty clearly where things are in a very timely fashion, so you can spot the trend lines quicker.

"It is good for a company like ourselves is good to know quickly where the position actually is rather than waiting another 12 months before the debate really clicks in.

“That enables you to manage that cash flow in a rather more sophisticated way. Having that data it is then up to the trustees and the company to say ‘how can that impact our decision making on investment’.

“The simplified assumptions that have bedevilled the industry can go. All the parties to the discussion will be much better placed to raise the quality of debate. That has been the problem for many years as a trustee and a company. There have been too many errors where the level of analysis has not been there.”