UK – Healthcare giant Bayer, with a pension scheme of roughly £750m, has implemented a pensions governance system from eShare.

The aim is to improve trustees’ access to information and each other.

According to an eShare statement, the move is one of the first major initiatives by pensions governance director Trevor Dickson, who took up the role in November 2005.

“This report confirms what many of us have known for a while – that if we are going to improve pensions governance we must give Trustees every tool available to do the job properly,” said Dickson.

“That starts with improved transparency and quality information but goes much further – and that is what eShare will provide.”

Discussions regarding this new system kicked off in August/September last year. It is already up and running, eShare told IPE.

eShare’s web-based technology platform acts as an interface to information relating to pensions governance, and securely delivers that information to all relevant parties – from trustees to actuaries.

Under this new system, trustees can access training resources and record the activities they perform.

“Ultimately, the solution focuses the trustees on the issues at hand, be that a decision, a meeting, a document, a process or a business plan task – which in turn enables better decision-making and greater accountability,” said the statement.

According to eShare managing director Alister Esam: “The Regulator wants to see schemes change. We are providing the technology to make that happen.

“This is true from the very largest scheme in the land through to the smallest of schemes where costs are crucial but so are members.”

Bayer added: “On the whole the aim is to be able to demonstrate to the Regulator that Bayer is an example of how a scheme should be run.”

Esam told IPE that among its many pension scheme clients, the DHL scheme is also looking at implementing a similar system.

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