On the go: The trustee of Universities Superannuation Scheme has decided to signpost its members to LifeSight – Willis Towers Watson’s defined contribution master trust – for drawdown provision.
The appointment is believed to be the first time that a UK master trust has assigned another master trust to provide services to its members.
USS members who wish to access their benefits through drawdown will be able to transfer their funds directly into a LifeSight drawdown account, the scheme has announced.
There are around 90,000 USS members with DC savings, equating to £1.6bn of assets under management.
Helen McEwan, chief pensions officer at USS, said: “As the largest private pension scheme by assets under management in the country we are always looking for ways to improve the experience and services available to our members.
“Signposting members to a drawdown provision as part of a balanced range of retirement options is an important part of the USS retirement experience.
“We have an in-house team who conducted a thorough review of the master trust market and we were very impressed with LifeSight, from the transparency and access provided by the management team to the independent governance provided by its trustee board,” she continued.
“Its investment operations, its commitment to ESG and the online experience and tools available to members were particular strengths that we identified,” she added.
Fiona Matthews, managing director of LifeSight, said that the USS trustee was “very thorough in its due diligence”, and that LifeSight’s “independent trustee board and market-leading member experience was a differentiating factor in this competitive market”.
Jane Platt, chair of the LifeSight trustee board, added: “We’ve worked closely with the USS team to make sure that they are fully satisfied that LifeSight can provide a high-quality member experience with thorough independent governance.
“The LifeSight trustees are very pleased to welcome USS members to our drawdown service,” she said.
In July, LifeSight announced it is committing to the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across all of its default investment strategies by 2050, while targeting at least a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.
In November, the master trust invested almost $1bn (£734m) in Willis Towers Watson’s Climate Transition Index fund.
LifeSight has around 245,000 members and £12bn of assets under management.
