On the go: Buck has launched a new “gap analysis” governance tool designed to help schemes navigate the Pensions Regulator’s forthcoming combined code of practice.

The new code is due out later this year and is intended to combine 10 of the existing 15 codes of practice into one modular document. It garnered significant industry criticism over its contents, which do not merely transfer existing material but rather add a raft of new requirements on climate change, cyber security, investment, administration and remuneration policies.

Several industry bodies also criticised the way the government consulted on the code, and this combined antipathy forced it to drop proposed rules around unregulated investments.

The combined code will also introduce a new form of “own risk assessment”. The original proposals would see the EU’s Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision II directive incorporated and then built on, the single code compelling schemes with fewer than 100 members to carry out an own risk assessment annually as opposed to triennially as stipulated by IORP II.

Buck said its new tool was particularly important in light of these new requirements, though it will be available whether or not a scheme needs to conduct an own risk assessment, as it covers all modules in the draft code.

The tool, which it bills as the first of its kind, uses a 42-question digital survey to bring clarity to a scheme’s governance position. A ‘traffic light’ score is generated on the back of answers to the survey questions, which in turn produce recommendations for how trustees can improve each area of governance. 

The resulting reports are hosted on an online dashboard, creating a summary of the scheme’s overall performance, as well as a prioritised “plan of action” with recommendations for improving scheme governance.

David Piltz, UK managing director at Buck, said: “In advance of the new code of practice, trustees need to be thinking ahead about how they can improve their scheme governance, as even well-governed schemes are unlikely to have measures in place to meet every requirement.

“It’s vital that trustees have a good understanding of their current position as early as possible, and this is exactly what our digitally driven gap analysis solution is designed to do.

“Our tool not only offers trustees insight into their current governance situation, it also provides them with a tailored, trusted and proportionate approach to meeting those requirements,” Piltz continued. 

“We’re committed to supporting trustees in preparing for the changes in a way that suits them, while also ensuring that they fulfil their wider strategic objectives.”

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