Pension Regulation and Compliance Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Pension Managers, Trustees and Board Members and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-BI-073

Before you join: Participants should understand the basic purpose of pension schemes and be familiar with either pension administration, employee benefits, insurance, finance, compliance, risk, legal or investment work.

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 schemes, pension funds, insurers and sponsoring employers face demanding duties around governance, funding, investment, member communications, data protection and regulatory reporting. Failures can result in underfunded benefits, unsuitable investment decisions, inaccurate records, late disclosures, enforcement action and loss of member confidence. Professionals responsible for pension arrangements need to translate legal and regulatory obligations into controlled operating processes, clear accountabilities and evidence that decisions have been properly made.

This course examines the regulatory framework governing defined benefit, defined contribution, occupational and personal pension arrangements. Participants assess the respective roles of trustees, boards, sponsors, administrators, investment managers, custodians, actuaries and regulators. They apply IORP II, OECD pension principles, IAS 19 and data protection requirements to governance structures, funding decisions, investment oversight, outsourcing controls, member disclosures, complaints handling and supervisory engagement. The course also addresses cross-border pension considerations, pension risk management, conduct requirements and regulatory change management.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with pension-fund cases, regulatory-document reviews, group analysis, decision simulations and structured application planning. Participants build a pension compliance operating model during the course, beginning with a regulatory obligations register and developing it through governance, risk, reporting and assurance components. They leave with a completed compliance pack that can be adapted for a pension scheme, pension administrator, insurer or sponsoring employer.

The course is suited to professionals working with pension governance, administration, finance, investment, risk, compliance, legal or internal audit responsibilities. It is particularly relevant where participants must coordinate several service providers while retaining clear oversight of member outcomes and regulatory duties.

What you will be able to do

  • Interpret pension regulatory requirements using a structured obligations register
  • Design trustee and board governance arrangements with defined accountability matrices
  • Assess funding, solvency and contribution risks using actuarial valuation evidence
  • Monitor pension investment governance against policy limits and fiduciary duties
  • Build regulatory reporting calendars, evidence files and escalation procedures
  • Evaluate outsourced pension administration through service-level and control reviews
  • Apply IAS 19 requirements to pension obligations and employer financial reporting
  • Present a pension compliance operating model with risk, control and assurance plans

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence interpreting pension obligations and identifying accountable owners
  • Practical methods for challenging administrator, actuary and investment-manager reports
  • A structured approach to documenting trustee and board compliance decisions
  • Improved ability to identify pension reporting, data and member-communication failures
  • A reusable compliance operating model for current pension responsibilities

For your organisation

  • Clearer ownership of pension duties across trustees, sponsors and service providers
  • Earlier identification of funding, investment, administration and disclosure weaknesses
  • More reliable regulatory calendars, evidence retention and escalation routes
  • Better oversight of outsourced administrators, asset managers and custodians
  • Stronger assurance for boards, regulators, auditors and pension scheme members

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can identify applicable pension rules and organise them within a regulatory obligations register.

  • Pension pillars and scheme types: state, occupational and personal arrangements
  • Defined benefit and defined contribution promise structures compared
  • Regulatory sources: statutes, rules, guidance, codes and supervisory statements
  • Identifying regulated entities, accountable persons and service-provider roles
  • Jurisdictional scope for domestic, cross-border and multinational pension arrangements
  • Regulatory obligations register built from legal and supervisory requirements

Participants can assess scheme legal structures and apply fiduciary duties to pension decisions.

  • Trust-based, contract-based and insurance-based pension structures distinguished
  • Fiduciary duty principles: loyalty, prudence, care and beneficiary interests
  • Trust deed, scheme rules and governing documents reviewed systematically
  • Sponsor, trustee and administrator powers mapped against delegated authorities
  • Conflicts of interest identified through a trustee interests register
  • Decision records tested against proper-purpose and evidence requirements

Participants can design governance arrangements with clear decision rights, committees and escalation paths.

  • Board and trustee composition requirements assessed against competence needs
  • RACI matrix assigns pension decisions, approvals, reporting and challenge
  • Terms of reference drafted for investment, risk and audit committees
  • Fit-and-proper assessments documented for trustees and senior managers
  • Delegated authority limits aligned with scheme rules and policies
  • Annual governance calendar coordinates meetings, reviews and statutory deadlines

Participants can build a pension risk register and connect significant risks to controls and reporting.

  • Risk taxonomy covers funding, investment, operational, conduct and legal exposures
  • Risk register records causes, impacts, owners, controls and indicators
  • Three lines model clarifies management, oversight and assurance responsibilities
  • Key risk indicators set thresholds for funding and administration breaches
  • Control self-assessments test design and operating effectiveness evidence
  • Risk appetite statements define tolerances for pension decision-makers

Participants can review defined benefit funding evidence and escalate emerging solvency concerns.

  • Actuarial valuation assumptions: discount rates, mortality, inflation and salary growth
  • Funding level measures distinguish technical provisions from accounting liabilities
  • Recovery plans connect deficits, employer covenant and contribution schedules
  • Employer covenant assessment examines affordability, security and deterioration indicators
  • Stress testing models interest-rate, longevity and asset-return shocks
  • Funding monitoring reports trigger escalation under agreed tolerance thresholds

Participants can evaluate defined contribution controls that protect contributions, investments and member choices.

  • Contribution collection controls reconcile payroll files, remittances and member accounts
  • Default investment governance reviews suitability, charges and performance
  • Member choice architecture addresses investment options and transfer decisions
  • Value-for-money assessments compare costs, service quality and outcomes
  • Decumulation pathways reviewed for retirement income and longevity risks
  • DC governance dashboard tracks errors, delays, complaints and member outcomes

Participants can assess investment governance against fiduciary duties, mandates and policy limits.

  • Statement of investment principles links objectives, constraints and governance
  • Strategic asset allocation reviewed against liabilities, liquidity and risk capacity
  • Prudent person principle applied to diversification and concentration decisions
  • Investment manager mandates define benchmarks, limits, reporting and termination rights
  • ESG and stewardship duties assessed under applicable pension requirements
  • Performance attribution distinguishes allocation, selection and implementation effects

Participants can review safeguards protecting pension assets, cash movements and investment records.

  • Custodian agreements allocate safekeeping, settlement and asset-reconciliation duties
  • Segregation of assets protects members during sponsor or provider insolvency
  • Daily reconciliations compare investment records, custodian statements and cash
  • Investment transaction controls address authorisation, valuation and settlement exceptions
  • Collateral and derivative governance monitors exposures, margin and counterparty limits
  • Asset protection evidence retained for trustee and regulatory inspection

Participants can establish administration controls for accurate records, calculations and member transactions.

  • Data quality framework defines accuracy, completeness, timeliness and traceability standards
  • Member record reconciliations identify missing service, salary and contribution data
  • Benefit calculation controls verify inputs, formulas, approvals and exceptions
  • Workflow controls manage retirements, deaths, transfers and beneficiary changes
  • Data lineage documents sources from payroll, HR, administrators and custodians
  • Error remediation plans prioritise member detriment, root cause and communication

Participants can monitor outsourced pension services using due diligence, contractual controls and performance evidence.

  • Outsourcing risk assessment distinguishes critical services from supporting activities
  • Due diligence evaluates provider capability, financial strength and control maturity
  • Service-level agreements specify accuracy, timeliness, reporting and remediation standards
  • Right-to-audit clauses secure access to records and control evidence
  • Provider scorecards monitor incidents, complaints, backlogs and recurring errors
  • Exit plans address data transfer, continuity and member-service protection

Participants can review pension communications for accuracy, fairness, timing and member understanding.

  • Disclosure inventory maps required statements, notices, reports and deadlines
  • Plain-language testing improves clarity of benefit and investment communications
  • Charges and costs disclosures reconciled to provider and investment data
  • Pension illustrations state assumptions, limitations and projected benefit scenarios
  • Conduct risk assessment identifies misleading communications and vulnerable-member risks
  • Communication approval workflow retains legal, compliance and trustee evidence

Participants can apply data protection duties to pension records, provider access and incident response.

  • GDPR lawful bases identified for pension administration processing activities
  • Records of processing activities document purposes, data categories and retention
  • Data minimisation applied to trustee papers, reports and service-provider files
  • Access-control matrices restrict member data by role and business need
  • Data breach response plans define containment, assessment, notification and communication
  • Data processor agreements assign security, audit and breach-reporting duties

Participants can interpret employer pension reporting requirements and challenge key accounting inputs.

  • IAS 19 distinguishes defined contribution expense from defined benefit accounting
  • Present value calculations use discount rates and actuarial assumptions
  • Service cost, net interest and remeasurement components analysed
  • Asset ceiling considerations assessed using IFRIC 14 requirements
  • Employer disclosures reconcile pension obligations, assets, risks and sensitivities
  • Finance and trustee reporting aligned without compromising independent governance

Participants can create reporting controls that support timely, accurate and evidenced regulatory submissions.

  • Regulatory reporting inventory identifies returns, notifications, attestations and owners
  • Reporting calendar sequences data collection, review, approval and submission milestones
  • Source-to-return reconciliations verify figures against administration and finance records
  • Material event criteria trigger regulator notification and trustee escalation
  • Evidence files retain calculations, approvals, correspondence and submitted returns
  • Record retention schedule aligns pension documents with legal requirements

Participants can prepare for supervisory reviews and manage regulatory requests with controlled responses.

  • Risk-based supervision methods identify governance, funding and conduct concerns
  • Regulator information requests logged, assigned and quality-reviewed before submission
  • Inspection readiness files organise policies, minutes, reports and evidence
  • Root-cause analysis investigates breaches using five whys and causal mapping
  • Remediation plans define actions, owners, deadlines, validation and reporting
  • Enforcement response considers cooperation, legal privilege and member protection

Participants can operate a fair complaints process that identifies pension control failures and member detriment.

  • Complaint taxonomy categorises administration, investment, communication and payment issues
  • Case handling workflow records acknowledgement, investigation, decision and closure
  • Ombudsman referral requirements considered within internal dispute-resolution procedures
  • Member detriment assessment quantifies financial loss, delay and corrective action
  • Redress calculations document assumptions, interest, tax treatment and approvals
  • Complaint trend analysis drives control improvements and trustee reporting

Participants can assess cross-border obligations and manage regulatory change through controlled implementation.

  • Cross-border service arrangements identify home, host and tax considerations
  • IORP II governance requirements compared with local implementing rules
  • Regulatory horizon scanning sources changes from regulators and legislation
  • Change impact assessment maps affected policies, systems, contracts and disclosures
  • Implementation plans assign accountable owners, milestones, testing and approvals
  • Post-implementation reviews confirm adoption, evidence quality and residual risks

Participants can plan assurance work that tests pension controls, evidence and remedial actions.

  • Assurance map coordinates trustee reviews, compliance monitoring and internal audit
  • Control testing plans define populations, samples, evidence and pass criteria
  • Walkthroughs trace pension transactions from initiation through final recordkeeping
  • Issue ratings assess member impact, regulatory exposure and control failure
  • Management action plans establish owners, due dates and validation evidence
  • Audit committee reports distinguish overdue actions from accepted residual risks

Participants can build, review and present a complete pension compliance operating model for a defined scheme scenario.

  • Scheme profile defines benefits, membership, legal form and service providers
  • Obligations register prioritises governance, funding, investment and disclosure requirements
  • RACI matrix assigns trustees, sponsor, administrator and adviser accountabilities
  • Risk and control register links exposures, indicators, evidence and escalation
  • Compliance calendar schedules reporting, reviews, attestations and regulatory notifications
  • Assurance plan tests critical controls and tracks remediation commitments
  • Board presentation explains material gaps, decisions, actions and residual risks

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

What you take back to work

  1. Pension regulatory obligations register
  2. Trustee and sponsor RACI matrix
  3. Pension risk and control register
  4. Regulatory reporting calendar
  5. Outsourced provider oversight scorecard
  6. Pension compliance operating model

Who should attend

  • Pension Managers — responsible for scheme operations, governance and regulatory deadlines
  • Trustees and Board Members — accountable for fiduciary decisions and member outcomes
  • Compliance Officers — required to map pension obligations into monitored controls
  • Pension Administrators — managing records, transactions, disclosures and service-provider duties
  • Finance and HR Leaders — overseeing pension costs, IAS 19 reporting and sponsor commitments
  • Risk and Internal Audit Professionals — reviewing pension controls, evidence and governance effectiveness

Skills and tools covered

Pension governanceRegulatory complianceFunding oversightInvestment governanceMember communicationsControl assurance

Tools and standards

IORP II Directive, OECD Core Principles of Private Pension Regulation, IAS 19 Employee Benefits, GDPR

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short technical briefings to establish key rules, then moves quickly into pension cases drawn from employer-sponsored schemes, pension administrators and insurance-based arrangements. Participants review governance papers, funding reports, investment documents, member communications and regulatory returns. Group exercises test decisions under funding pressure, data incidents, provider failure and supervisory scrutiny. Simulations develop escalation and trustee-reporting skills. Each participant applies course methods to a pension compliance operating model, receiving structured peer and instructor feedback before the final presentation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the basic purpose of pension schemes and be familiar with either pension administration, employee benefits, insurance, finance, compliance, risk, legal or investment work. Experience reading internal policies, management reports or regulatory guidance is useful. Participants should be comfortable discussing defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements at a basic level. Prior trustee experience, actuarial training, legal qualification, investment certification and detailed knowledge of a particular national pension regime are not required. The course uses jurisdiction-neutral principles alongside recognised international standards.

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 need basic familiarity with pensions, employee benefits, finance, compliance, risk or administration. They do not need actuarial training, trustee experience or detailed knowledge of one national pension regime.

Bring a laptop for reviewing course materials and developing the compliance operating model. Participants may also bring non-confidential examples of pension policies, reporting calendars or governance challenges for application planning.

It suits pension managers, trustees, administrators, compliance professionals, finance leaders, HR leaders, risk specialists and internal auditors. It is designed for professionals with responsibility for pension decisions, controls or oversight.

Administration courses focus mainly on records, calculations and transactions, while investment courses focus on portfolio decisions. This course connects those activities to governance, regulatory duties, controls, reporting and accountable oversight.

Participants leave with templates and a completed pension compliance operating model that can be adapted to their scheme or organisation. The materials support immediate reviews of governance, reporting deadlines, provider oversight and control gaps.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Early modules establish obligations, governance and core controls; later modules deepen reporting, assurance, cross-border issues and the capstone presentation.

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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