Two political big hitters have been appointed as non-executive directors to the Pensions Quality Mark (PQM) Board.
Former Minister of State for Pensions, Sir Steve Webb (pictured above) and former Shadow Minister of State for Pensions, Gregg McClymont, will now add their own contributions to the PQM standard, launched in 2009, and which is wholly owned by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA).
It’s a standard that recognises high quality DC pension schemes and is designed to raise confidence in workplace pensions, helping employers demonstrate that their scheme is of a good quality.
Also appointed to the PQM Board as a non-executive is Karen McArthur.
Each non-executive board member serves three years.
Sir Steve is currently the Director of Policy at Royal London. He was Minister of State for Pensions between 2010 and 2015, and, during his tenure there, he implemented major reforms to the State Pension system, oversaw the introduction of automatic enrolment and played a key role in the new pension freedoms implemented in April 2015.
Gregg McClymont
McClymont is Aberdeen Asset Management’s Head of Retirement and was previously Shadow Minister of State for Pensions between 2011 and 2015 and Member of Parliament for his constituency of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East from 2010 to 2015. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.
McArthur’s experience includes developing strategic sustainability positions for UK and global companies including Vodafone and Thomson Reuters, driving innovation across the environmental agenda to improve performance.
Chairman of PQM Adrian Boulding said: “The appointment of three highly experienced Board members signifies the increasing influence of PQM and RQM within the industry. All three Board members bring with them a wealth of experience from within government and the private sector, firmly establishing the intention and commitment of all those at PQM and RQM to push up the standards of the industry.
“Our outgoing Board members, Chris Hitchen and Baroness Jeanne Drake, have made an enormous and influential contribution to our organisation – we’re very grateful for their committment and expertise.”
Sir Steve said: “I’ve long been an admirer of the work done by Pensions Quality Mark in driving up the standards of the industry. I’m very much looking forward to supporting PQM in its priorities for the next few years including fully embedding RQM into the industry and in its consultation on PQM READY.”
McClymont said: “Since 2009, PQM has been challenging the industry to improve, with great success. I’m enthusiastic to be joining the team and to use my experience to contribute to the development of the industry through both PQM and RQM.”
Karen McArthur
McArthur said: “The necessity for consumers to identify the best in class when it comes to pensions and the products available in retirement, is as important now as it ever has been. Holding a PQM or RQM accreditation means consumers can be confident that the pension scheme they’re enrolled on and the at-retirement product they have purchased has been independently ranked as top quality.”
