Chairman's Statement
Annual Chair's Statement for Rockport Scottish Widows Pension Scheme
Introduction
As the Chair of the Trustees for Rockport Scottish Widows Pension Scheme, I am pleased to present our annual statement for the scheme year ending 5 May 2025. This statement outlines how we have managed the scheme in accordance with regulatory requirements and our commitment to delivering value for money to our members.
Default Arrangement
The scheme is a legacy occupational money purchase scheme administered by Scottish Widows. Over the statement period the scheme continued to have five active members but it is not used as a qualifying arrangement for auto-enrolment purposes. The scheme offers only one fund choice, namely the Scottish Widows Unitised With Profits Fund which is therefore the default investment fund choice.
The underlying asset mix of the Scottish Widows Unitised With Profits Fund is :​​​​
This investment mix provides both geographical and asset class diversification thus spreading investment risk in the long term. Scottish Widows as the scheme administrator and fund manager are responsible for managing the fund for the benefit of scheme members. Full details are available in the following documents:
Scottish Widows Principles and Practices of Financial Management
Scottish Widows Report on Principles and Practices of Financial Management
Scottish Widows Fund Factsheet
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Scottish Widows With Profits Guide​
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Providers of with profits funds are obliged to have effective governance in place to manage the ongoing fund effectively including considering environmental, social and governance issues. No formal review of the default investment strategy by was undertaken during the period covered by this statement with the last review by Scottish Widows completed in June 2023 in relation to the year ending December 2023. The next Scottish Widows review will be in respect of the year ending December 2024. Over the past year, the default arrangement has performed in line with our expectations, delivering returns while managing risk effectively.
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Processing Core Financial Transactions
With regard to the scheme administration, the core financial transactions comprise of the monthly contributions for the remaining five active members. Contributions are submitted via an adviser and are monitored and checked on a monthly basis. Scottish Widows also have internal control procedures in place to ensure contributions are received by the required due dates.
Members have encountered delays however in receiving retirement quotations and ad hoc policy information requests such as policy details or transfer out quotes. There have also been delays in issuing annual statements to both active and paid up members.
As this is an old legacy scheme member communications are limited to the issuing of annual statements and members are unable to access their policy details on line.
There is is no formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place with Scottish Widows although Scottish Widows does have generic service level targets for all schemes under their administration.
Charges and Transaction Costs
We are committed to transparency regarding the costs and charges borne by our members. The charges on the Scottish Widows Unitised With Profits Fund are not explicit and are accounted for when the bonus rate is declared. Scottish Widows limits the charges and expenses which can be deducted from the With Profits Fund. In their latest Principles and Practices of Financial Management, Scottish Widows disclosed fee of 0.875% in respect of charge deductions for their Unitised With Profits Fund.
The following table illustrates examples to show the impact of these charges on members' pension pots over time.
Member fund value of £25,000 at age 25
Assumptions :
1. Member with fund of £25,000 at age 35.
2. No on-going regular contributions.
3. Investment return of 4%pa before charges.
4. Implicit charge of 0.875%pa reducing investment return to 3.125%pa.
5. Does not take account of the impact of inflation.
Members should be aware that the assumption may not hold true and therefore the above illustration is an estimate of what could happen in the future and are not guaranteed.
Trustees’ Knowledge and Understanding
Rockport School is the Corporate Trustee of the Scottish Widows Pension Scheme. The Trustee and Rockport School’s Board of Governors recognises the importance of having sufficient levels of individual and collective knowledge. Trustee representatives should be undertaking training covering what is expected of trustees,
scheme reporting, investment disclosure, administration requirements and changes in pension
legislations. The trustees have recently recognised the need to improve governance and have consulted
professional advisers on the matter.
Value for Members
The following table details investment returns net of charges from the Scottish Widows Unitised With Profits fund.
We have undertaken a comprehensive value for members assessment The outcome value for money assessment is that we have determined that on balance the winding up the Rockport Scottish Widows Pension Scheme is in the best interest of our members. Contributions to the five remaining active members policies will cease and future contributions directed to an alternative scheme.
While the performance of the Scottish Widows Unitised With Profits has been good especially over the longer term, it has been assessed that value for money has been negatively impacted in the following areas :
a) The availability of only one fund. Scheme members may have different attitudes to risk and capacity for loss and a scheme which offers a range of funds will allow members to choose an appropriate fund.
b) On-going Charges may be lower under a modern alternative arrangement.
c) Member communications are limited to paper based annual statements. Modern schemes will offer full online access to allow members to view and make changes to their policy.
d) The trustees are required to have a high level of knowledge an understanding of trustee duties and requirements. It is likely that these can be best met by a large scheme within a Master Trust arrangement.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth and transparent winding-up process, prioritising the protection and fair treatment of our members' savings.
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Mr Michael Burke
Chair of the trustees
Date : 12th September 2025
