As 2025 draws to a close, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on what we, as a club, have achieved over the past year. It has been a great example of the strength of our community, the value of shared knowledge, and the willingness of members and partners to support one another.
Highlights from 2025 include:
Member-led learning: Three members generously shared case studies from their recent work.
CRUK spoke about their Defined Benefit (DB) buy-in journey to proposed buy-out and subsequent wind-up.
Mencap and Action for Children shared their experiences of moving to a Master Trust.
ESOG/ORA preparation: We formed a working group with PDSA, National Trust, Action for Children, Church of England, Wellcome Trust and Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) to prepare for ESOG/ORA. The group has been collaboratively sharing gap analyses and policies.
Membership growth: We were delighted to welcome two new members – Church Army and Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales).
Annual in-person event (September):
We welcomed The Pensions Regulator as a guest speaker.
And, of course, enjoyed another delicious (and very generous!) Turkish lunch at Baraka restaurant during our annual get-together.
Partner-led sessions:
Our legal partners, Arc Pensions Law, hosted sessions on the Pensions Dashboard, PO determination, alternative endgame solutions (including transfers to master trusts and run-on), and provided several updates on the Virgin Media case, the Pension Schemes Bill, its impact on DC schemes, and changes to inheritance tax.
Our actuarial partner, First Actuarial, hosted sessions on practical steps to completing an ORA, GMP equalisation, the New Funding Code (through a not-for-profit lens), pension cyber security, and recorded a webinar on pension scheme funding for charities (a useful introductory overview which can be viewed here. [Webinar Recording]
Our professional trustee partner, Pi Partnership, hosted sessions on charity scheme valuations under the new Funding Code, DC decumulation strategies, and their Trustee and Governance Update: Looking Ahead for 2026. A note of this session is available here.
Research and insights:
We ran our annual member data benchmarking survey and report.
We also produced an additional survey and report exploring how charities support employees and families with pension access during early ill-health retirement or bereavement.
From an operational perspective:
The CPC is based in Whitby, North Yorkshire, and this year I took on office space at a community centre in the town where all profits raised are reinvested into local charities and community organisations. The centre also provides facilities for local groups to use for training and events. I’m proud to be supporting this fantastic local initiative.
Awards and Nominations
The CPC won two awards at the Investment Excellence Awards 2025:
Best Female-Led Charity Pensions Forum (though think I might be the only one??)
Client Dedication Excellence Award
Our Director, Chloe Scragg, was nominated for a Women in Pensions Award 2025 at the Professional Pensions Awards.
Looking ahead to 2026, there is plenty planned, including:
Membership fees: There will be no increase again for 2026. Thanks to strong member numbers and partner support, we can continue to keep fees low for charities while enhancing member benefits.
New member benefit: Free access to First Actuarial’s Financial Wellbeing Tool for your charity to support employees. Click here for more information.
More webinars: A broader programme covering both DB, DC and general topics to ensure the club continues to meet the needs of all members.
In-person event: We will continue to hold an annual in-person event, while exploring whether a month other than September may work better. More details to follow.
Growing the club: We’re always keen to welcome new members, so if you know of any charities that might benefit from joining the CPC, please do spread the word.
Thank you to all members and partners for being part of the Charities Pensions Club and helping achieve all of the above.
For more information about Charities Pensions Club, please contact chloe@charitiespensionsclub.com
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