Pension Administration and Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Pension Administrators, Pension Fund Operations Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-150

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with pension arrangements, payroll, HR benefits, finance operations or employee records.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Pension administrators must convert complex scheme rules, payroll data, investment records and member life events into accurate contributions, benefits and regulatory reporting. Errors can lead to underpayments, delayed retirements, member complaints, funding shortfalls, audit findings and reputational damage. Administrators also need sound controls over personal data, payment approvals, transfers, exceptions and third-party service providers.

This course develops the practical knowledge needed to administer defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid pension arrangements. Participants examine the full administration cycle: member enrolment, record maintenance, contribution collection, payroll reconciliation, investment allocation, retirement processing, transfers, death benefits, financial reporting and member communications. The programme also covers pension governance, risk registers, segregation of duties, service-level monitoring, fraud controls, data quality and the financial management of pension assets, liabilities and cash flows. IAS 19 and IFRIC 14 are introduced where employer accounting and funding issues affect pension administration.

The five-day instructor-led programme combines short technical briefings with pension administration cases, group analysis, reconciliation simulations, control reviews and structured application planning. Participants work with realistic examples such as unresolved contribution exceptions, inaccurate service histories, benefit-payment controls, delayed regulatory returns and liquidity pressures caused by benefit outflows. They leave with a pension administration control pack containing reusable templates, checklists and reporting models, together with a 90-day improvement plan for their own role or administration team.

The course is suited to pension fund administrators, HR and payroll professionals, trustees' support staff, finance personnel and operations managers who need to manage pension processes with greater accuracy, control and accountability.

What you will be able to do

  • Administer member enrolment, contribution, transfer, retirement and benefit-payment processes against scheme rules
  • Reconcile payroll remittances, member records, clearing accounts and custodian information
  • Apply maker-checker controls, segregation of duties and audit-trail requirements to pension transactions
  • Calculate and validate pension contribution allocations, benefit entitlements and payment deductions
  • Build risk registers, key risk indicators and exception-ageing reports for administration operations
  • Interpret IAS 19, IFRIC 14 and actuarial valuation information relevant to pension finance
  • Prepare member communication, disclosure and complaint-handling processes with documented controls
  • Produce a 90-day pension administration improvement plan with owners, measures and review dates

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence processing complex member events, transfers and retirement claims
  • Practical methods for resolving contribution and membership-record discrepancies
  • Stronger capability to identify payment, data and fraud-control weaknesses
  • Working knowledge of pension financial statements and actuarial valuation reports
  • A documented improvement plan for pension administration responsibilities

For your organisation

  • Fewer contribution allocation errors and unresolved reconciliation exceptions
  • Better control over benefit payments, bank-detail changes and payment approvals
  • More timely regulatory returns, member statements and trustee reporting
  • Clearer evidence for internal audit, external audit and supervisory inspections
  • Improved management information on backlogs, complaints, risks and service performance

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish pension scheme structures and map the responsibilities and transactions across the administration lifecycle.

  • Defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid scheme designs compared
  • Trust deed, scheme rules and plan documents interpreted
  • Employer, trustee, administrator and custodian accountabilities mapped
  • Funding, accrual and benefit payment lifecycles traced
  • Occupational, public and personal pension arrangements distinguished
  • Jurisdiction-specific supervisory requirements identified from applicable pension legislation
  • Service-level agreements translated into measurable administration responsibilities

Participants can design core governance and control arrangements for pension administration activities.

  • Three Lines Model assigns operational, oversight and assurance responsibilities
  • Delegations of authority control benefit approvals and payment releases
  • Risk registers record likelihood, impact, owners and treatments
  • Segregation-of-duties controls prevent unauthorised member record changes
  • Key risk indicators monitor backlogs, errors, complaints and breaches
  • Incident escalation follows documented thresholds, timelines and governance routes
  • Audit trails evidence decisions, overrides and reconciliations

Participants can maintain accurate member data and manage common record-quality exceptions.

  • Member lifecycle events trigger enrolment, updates, transfers and exits
  • Data dictionaries define mandatory fields, sources and validation rules
  • Unique identifiers prevent duplicate records and misallocated contributions
  • Data-quality profiling measures completeness, validity, consistency and timeliness
  • Exception queues prioritise missing evidence and conflicting member information
  • Privacy-by-design applies purpose limitation, access control and retention
  • Reconciliation matches payroll, membership, contribution and custodian records

Participants can administer pension contributions and reconcile payroll, bank and member-account records.

  • Contribution schedules apply pensionable pay, rates, caps and thresholds
  • Payroll reconciliations identify late, missing, duplicate and misallocated receipts
  • Clearing accounts separate pending allocations from available investment cash
  • Exception ageing reports assign owners and escalation dates
  • Interest and late-payment charges calculated under scheme rules
  • Contribution allocation validates member elections and default investment options
  • Monthly control accounts reconcile employer remittances to member postings

Participants can validate benefit entitlements and administer controlled pension payment processes.

  • Benefit entitlement calculated from service, salary, accrual and vesting data
  • Retirement options compare annuity, drawdown, lump-sum and phased benefits
  • Transfer values follow scheme rules, assumptions and required disclosures
  • Death and survivor benefits verify beneficiaries, evidence and trustee decisions
  • Payment authorisation uses maker-checker controls and approved bank details
  • Tax withholding and reporting follow applicable pension payment rules
  • Benefit payroll reconciles gross awards, deductions, payments and reversals

Participants can interpret pension financial information, funding measures and accounting implications.

  • IAS 19 distinguishes defined contribution expense from defined benefit obligations
  • Defined benefit obligation drivers include discount rates, mortality and salary growth
  • Actuarial valuation reports explain assets, liabilities, funding and assumptions
  • Plan asset valuations reconcile custodian statements, transactions and market movements
  • Employer accounting entries separate service cost, interest and remeasurements
  • IFRIC 14 assesses asset ceilings and minimum funding requirements
  • Financial statements disclose contributions, benefit payments, expenses and related-party balances

Participants can monitor pension cash flows, investment operations and custodian reconciliations.

  • Statement of investment principles links objectives, risk limits and governance
  • Strategic asset allocation distinguishes liquidity needs from long-term return targets
  • Cash-flow forecasts schedule contributions, benefits, expenses and collateral calls
  • Custodian reconciliations compare units, prices, income and settlement status
  • Investment manager reports assess performance, fees, benchmarks and mandate compliance
  • Liquidity stress testing models benefit spikes and delayed contribution receipts
  • Collateral and derivative reporting follows approved investment policy limits

Participants can manage member communications, disclosures and complaints with appropriate evidence and controls.

  • Member communications translate scheme rules into accurate plain-language notices
  • Disclosure calendars schedule annual statements, benefit quotations and regulatory returns
  • Benefit illustrations document assumptions, charges, risks and retirement options
  • Complaint handling applies root-cause analysis, response standards and escalation
  • Vulnerable-member indicators trigger tailored communication and additional safeguards
  • Record retention schedules preserve evidence for disputes, audits and inspections
  • Communication quality checks test accuracy, readability and required disclosures

Participants can monitor compliance obligations and respond to fraud, security and continuity risks.

  • Compliance monitoring tests statutory deadlines, internal controls and reporting obligations
  • Anti-money-laundering checks verify identity, source-of-funds and suspicious activity indicators
  • Fraud scenarios address impersonation, account takeover and payment diversion
  • Sanctions screening controls beneficiary payments and overseas transfer requests
  • Business continuity plans prioritise payroll, benefit payments and member access
  • Cybersecurity controls protect administrator credentials, data extracts and payment files
  • Control testing documents samples, exceptions, remediation owners and due dates

Participants can measure administration performance and prepare a targeted improvement plan.

  • Process maps expose handoffs, queues, rework and control points
  • Service-level metrics measure turnaround, accuracy, backlog and first-contact resolution
  • Root-cause analysis separates people, process, system and policy failures
  • RACI matrices clarify ownership for recurring administration activities
  • Continuous improvement prioritises fixes using impact-effort scoring matrices
  • Management information packs combine operational, financial, risk and member metrics
  • 90-day administration improvement plan assigns actions, measures and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Pension administration process map
  2. Contribution reconciliation template
  3. Benefit payment control checklist
  4. Pension administration risk register
  5. Member data-quality review checklist
  6. 90-day administration improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Pension Administrators — need reliable methods for processing member records, contributions and benefits
  • Pension Fund Operations Officers — manage daily controls, exceptions, service levels and provider coordination
  • Payroll Managers — reconcile pension deductions, employer remittances and late-payment exceptions
  • HR and Benefits Professionals — administer pension enrolment, member communications and retirement events
  • Finance Managers — oversee pension cash flows, accounting entries, funding information and reporting
  • Trustee Secretariat Staff — support governance papers, compliance monitoring and administration oversight

Skills and tools covered

Pension record administrationContribution reconciliationBenefit payment controlsPension risk managementMember data governancePension financial reporting

Tools and standards

IAS 19 Employee Benefits, IFRIC 14 IAS 19 — The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Three Lines Model, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

Teaching combines focused briefings with worked pension administration cases, small-group process analysis, reconciliation simulations and control-design discussions. Participants assess member lifecycle scenarios, contribution exceptions, retirement calculations, payment approvals, financial reporting extracts and complaint files. Facilitators use templates drawn from pension operations to demonstrate risk registers, data checks, service-level reporting and governance evidence. Group exercises test decisions against scheme rules, approval limits and documented control requirements. Each participant develops a practical application plan for improving a current pension administration process.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with pension arrangements, payroll, HR benefits, finance operations or employee records. They should be comfortable reading spreadsheets, reconciling figures and following documented procedures. Experience in a pension fund, insurer, employer benefits team, administrator, payroll function or trustee office is useful but not essential. The course assumes no actuarial qualification and does not require prior knowledge of investment modelling, advanced accounting standards or pension-law interpretation. Participants should bring examples of non-confidential processes or reporting issues they want to improve.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic workplace pension, payroll, HR benefits or finance processes. No actuarial qualification, investment-specialist background or prior knowledge of IAS 19 is required.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus non-confidential examples of reports, process issues or administration challenges. Participants may also bring their organisation's published pension policy or scheme process documents where permitted.

It is designed for pension administrators, payroll and HR professionals, pension fund operations staff, finance managers and trustee support personnel. It is particularly useful for staff moving into pension administration responsibilities or supervising outsourced providers.

This course focuses on administering pension operations accurately and controlling the associated financial, data and payment processes. It explains how to interpret actuarial and investment information, but does not train participants to perform actuarial valuations or select investment portfolios.

Participants can use the reconciliation templates, risk register, payment-control checklist and service-performance measures in their own administration processes. The final improvement plan identifies actions, responsible owners and review dates for immediate use.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between technical briefings, cases, group analysis, simulations, discussion and application planning across ten teaching modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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