Pension Fund Regulation Training Course

Participants can identify the legal documents and fiduciary duties governing a pension arrangement.

• Trust deeds, scheme rules, statutes and contractual pension arrangements
• Fiduciary duty: loyalty, prudence, impartiality and proper-purpose decision making
• Distinguishing sponsor obligations from trustee and management responsibilities
• Benefit promises, contribution commitments and amendment powers within scheme documents
• Conflict-of-interest provisions for trustees, executives, advisers and related parties
• Document hierarchy analysis when scheme rules conflict with operating procedures

Participants can assess whether pension fund governance arrangements meet regulatory expectations.

• Board composition, member representation, independence and collective competence requirements
• Terms of reference for trustees, committees and delegated decision authorities
• Fit-and-proper assessments covering integrity, competence, experience and financial soundness
• Key functions: risk management, internal audit, actuarial and compliance responsibilities
• Meeting packs, minutes and decision records as governance evidence
• Succession planning for trustee appointments and senior control-function roles

Participants can build an obligations map assigning compliance ownership, controls and evidence.

• Regulatory obligations inventory built from laws, rules, licences and guidance
• RACI matrices assigning accountable owners, control performers and reviewers
• Control descriptions linked to specific legal and supervisory requirements
• Evidence standards for demonstrating timely, repeatable regulatory compliance
• Compliance monitoring plans using thematic reviews and sample testing
• Breach classification, root-cause analysis and regulatory notification thresholds

Participants can interpret the regulatory controls surrounding pension funding and actuarial valuation.

• Defined benefit and defined contribution funding obligations compared
• Actuarial valuation assumptions: discount rates, mortality, salary growth and inflation
• Funding ratios, recovery plans and sponsor contribution escalation triggers
• Solvency margins, technical provisions and minimum capital requirements
• Stress testing funding positions under market, longevity and sponsor-default scenarios
• Actuary appointment, independence, reporting duties and peer-review expectations

Participants can review an investment policy against pension fund regulatory requirements and limits.

• Prudent-person principle applied to pension portfolio construction and oversight
• Statement of investment principles: objectives, constraints, governance and review cycles
• Asset allocation limits, concentration thresholds and related-party investment restrictions
• Liquidity management for benefit payments, collateral calls and stressed markets
• Derivatives controls covering hedging purpose, collateral and counterparty exposure
• Investment committee reporting using mandate limits and exception registers

Participants can identify operational controls required to protect pension assets and valuation integrity.

• Custodian appointment criteria, asset segregation and safekeeping responsibilities
• Independent pricing sources, valuation committees and stale-price escalation procedures
• Trade lifecycle controls from order placement through settlement and reconciliation
• Corporate actions processing, income collection and entitlement verification
• Cash controls separating initiation, approval, release and bank reconciliation
• Asset-register reconciliation between investment manager, custodian and fund records

Participants can construct a pension fund risk register with measurable controls and escalation triggers.

• Risk appetite statements linking member outcomes to board-approved tolerances
• Risk taxonomy covering market, credit, liquidity, operational, legal and conduct risks
• Inherent and residual risk scoring using likelihood-impact assessment matrices
• Key risk indicators with thresholds, trend analysis and escalation actions
• Own-risk assessment processes aligned with IORP II expectations
• Risk register updates following incidents, regulatory changes and strategic decisions

Participants can evaluate internal control design and plan assurance over pension fund processes.

• Three-lines model applied to pension fund governance and assurance
• COSO internal control components mapped to pension administration processes
• Control design testing: preventive, detective, automated and manual controls
• Internal audit plans based on risk assessment and regulatory priorities
• Issue tracking with management actions, due dates and closure validation
• Assurance reporting to trustees, audit committees and supervisory authorities

Participants can assess controls over member records, contributions, claims and benefit payments.

• Member data validation at enrolment, transfers, contributions and retirement events
• Contribution reconciliation between payroll files, bank receipts and member accounts
• Benefit calculation controls for accruals, vesting, early retirement and survivors
• Payment authorisation procedures preventing duplicate, erroneous and fraudulent disbursements
• Record-retention schedules supporting legal, tax and member-account requirements
• Exception reporting for late contributions, unresolved cases and data anomalies

Participants can review member communications and conduct controls against regulatory expectations.

• Disclosure requirements for benefits, charges, investment options and material risks
• Plain-language testing for annual benefit statements and retirement illustrations
• Fair-treatment principles applied to transfers, withdrawals and decumulation choices
• Communication governance: approval workflows, version control and legal sign-off
• Complaints handling procedures with acknowledgement, investigation and resolution timelines
• Vulnerable-member considerations in communications, service access and decision support

Participants can design oversight controls for outsourced pension fund activities and delegated authorities.

• Outsourcing risk assessment for administrators, actuaries, custodians and investment managers
• Due diligence covering capability, financial resilience, controls and regulatory status
• Service-level agreements defining performance metrics, reporting and escalation rights
• Delegated authority matrices preserving trustee accountability for material decisions
• Exit plans addressing data transfer, continuity, replacement and member protection
• Third-party monitoring through service reviews, incidents and assurance reports

Participants can assess pension fund exposure to money laundering, sanctions breaches and fraud.

• FATF risk-based approach applied to pension contributions and benefit payments
• Customer due diligence triggers for members, beneficiaries and receiving institutions
• Sanctions screening controls for payments, counterparties and investment exposures
• Fraud risk indicators: identity theft, false claims and payroll manipulation
• Suspicious activity escalation, recordkeeping and reporting governance requirements
• Whistleblowing arrangements protecting reporters and preserving investigation evidence

Participants can identify regulatory controls protecting pension member data and critical services.

• Personal data inventories covering members, beneficiaries, payroll and health information
• Lawful processing, consent records and privacy notices for pension administration
• Access controls using least privilege, role design and periodic recertification
• Cyber incident response plans with notification, containment and member communications
• Business continuity planning for payroll disruption, system failure and administrator outage
• Operational resilience mapping for important business services and impact tolerances

Participants can prepare a controlled reporting process for supervisory, financial and member disclosures.

• Regulatory reporting calendar covering returns, notifications, attestations and filing deadlines
• Data lineage from source systems through calculations, review and submission
• IAS 26 reporting considerations for retirement benefit plans
• Management representation processes supporting accurate supervisory submissions
• Material error correction, restatement decisions and regulator communication protocols
• Disclosure controls for audited accounts, annual reports and scheme statements

Participants can prepare for supervisory engagement and respond effectively to regulatory findings.

• Risk-based supervision methods used by pension regulators and inspectors
• Inspection readiness files containing policies, evidence, minutes and control records
• Regulator meeting preparation: issue summaries, accountable owners and supporting evidence
• Responding to information requests with validation, privilege and approval controls
• Remediation plans specifying root causes, actions, milestones and assurance
• Enforcement outcomes: directions, fines, trustee removal and licence conditions

Participants can identify additional regulatory issues arising from cross-border pension operations.

• Cross-border scheme structures, applicable law and home-host supervisory responsibilities
• IORP II requirements for governance, risk assessment and member information
• Tax treaty considerations affecting contributions, investment income and benefit payments
• Currency, transfer and repatriation controls affecting pension asset movements
• International data transfers under privacy and member confidentiality requirements
• Comparing OECD and IOPS principles with local pension rules

Participants can establish a process for assessing and implementing pension regulatory change.

• Regulatory horizon scanning using regulator publications, consultations and legislative trackers
• Change impact assessments across governance, systems, investments and member communications
• Policy gap analysis against new rules, guidance and supervisory expectations
• Implementation plans assigning owners, dependencies, milestones and approval gates
• Training records demonstrating staff and trustee awareness of changed obligations
• Post-implementation reviews testing effectiveness and unresolved regulatory risks

Participants can produce concise board reporting that supports informed pension regulatory decisions.

• Board dashboards combining funding, investment, risk, compliance and administration indicators
• Materiality criteria distinguishing routine exceptions from board-level regulatory matters
• Decision papers stating legal duties, options, risks and recommended actions
• Escalation protocols for breaches, incidents and deteriorating funding positions
• Challenge techniques for testing management assumptions and adviser recommendations
• Action trackers linking board decisions to accountable implementation owners

Participants can build, review and present a complete pension fund regulatory compliance assessment and remedial action plan.

• Regulatory obligations map consolidated across governance, funding, investments and operations
• Governance assessment supported by role matrices, minutes and fit-and-proper evidence
• Risk and control register prioritising residual exposures and control gaps
• Investment compliance review testing policy limits, liquidity and delegated mandates
• Regulatory reporting calendar identifying owners, evidence requirements and escalation paths
• Board presentation defending findings, remediation priorities and implementation milestones