How Royal Mail Pensions consolidated many complex moving parts with Risk Management
“It’s made the risk management process a lot slicker and much more professional. The flexibility is massive, I could produce 20 reports, and it wouldn’t take me very long to complete."
by Published on 20 August 2024 4 minute read
With roots tracing back over five centuries of postal service heritage, Royal Mail Pensions Plan supports the people behind one of Britain’s most iconic institutions. Managing the retirement benefits of current and former Royal Mail employees, the Plan oversees billions in assets with a steadfast focus on security, transparency, and long-term value. Guided by experienced trustees and supported by specialist partners, Royal Mail Pensions Plan combines tradition with innovation; using data, technology, and governance excellence to safeguard members’ futures. Every decision is made with one purpose: to deliver reliable, responsible pensions that stand the test of time.
The Problem
Royal Mail Pensions relied on spreadsheets to manage complex, multi-committee risks; a time-consuming process that lacked consistency, efficiency, and visibility across the organisation.
The Solution
OneAdvanced's Risk Management Software.
The Result
Royal Mail Pensions now manage risks through one clear, professional system; improving efficiency, governance, and confidence in every decision.
Background: Safeguarding the pensions of all members
The Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) is managed by a Trustee company called Royal Mail Pensions Trustees Ltd (RMPTL). Their executive function as a company is to look after the pension schemes of Royal Mail, ensuring that the money invested by the members in Royal Mail is safeguarded.
They are the custodians of the pension fund, managing in excess of about £14 billion worth of assets for members and are committed to a high level of compliance with relevant legislation, regulation, industry codes and standards, as well as internal policies and sound corporate governance principles.
The multidisciplinary company looks after many moving parts, including the investment, governance, finance, and admin behind the pension scheme. With that comes many challenges.
Removing the spreadsheet approach
With increasing regulations and policies being introduced for the pensions sector, a spreadsheet approach was no longer working at Royal Mail Pensions for the trustees to confidently manage their risks.
An example of this type of increasing regulation is the Effective Systems of Governance (ESOG) being brought in by the Pensions Regulator. This requires an Own Risk Assessment, where pension funds must be able to demonstrate how risk is managed within their organisation. This new approach prompted RMPP to look for a more effective tool for managing risk.
OneAdvanced was suggested by a member of the Royal Mail Pensions team who had used the Risk Management system before and could see the value it would bring. After looking into the product further, contact was made.
Peter Wilson explains; “It was only when I got under the bonnet of it that I could see the product was not just a risk management product, but a governance solution. In Royal Mail Pensions, we have multistrategy sections within the scheme. So, one strategy is looking to take on risk, whereas another is looking to be risk averse. We needed to find a system that could be a one size fits all for us.”
A more efficient and professional risk system
Once Peter and his team got in touch with OneAdvanced and started the implementation process, it was straightforward and seamless, giving each committee more time to focus on making important decisions and the management of their risks.
“Now that we have a professional dashboard to show our risks, trustees are no longer focused on picking out the spelling mistakes, colour differences and cells not being level in spreadsheets. OneAdvanced’s Risk Management software is concise and makes it easy for the reader to focus on what they want rather than struggling with version control. The dashboard gives us more time to make necessary adjustments.”
Once the Risk Management solution was well integrated into Royal Mail Pensions, the team could easily manage and track risks within different parts of the organisation. Removing the spreadsheet approach allowed Peter to manage a more efficient and professional risk system.
He continues; “It’s made the risk management process a lot slicker and much more professional. The flexibility is massive, I could produce 20 reports, and it wouldn’t take me very long to complete. I wouldn’t have to put things into Word documents and ensure I’ve got all the risks in the right places. The software does that for you.”
Effortless risk management made simple and effective
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