Enplan announces successful onboarding during COVID-19 pandemic
Isio, a leading UK pensions advisory firm which combines actuarial expertise, third party administration, investment consulting and defined contribution specialisms, today announces that the Furness Building Society Pension and Assurance Scheme has been successfully onboarded onto the Enplan Pension Platform.
Enplan will provide governance, actuarial, investment and administration services for the Furness Building Society Pension and Assurance Scheme, which has assets of around £30m and over 200 members.
The Furness Building Society is a Barrow-in-Furness-based provider of financial products to savers in the north of England and across the country. With savings accounts and mortgage loans among its core product offerings, the Society also partners with other businesses to deliver a broader spectrum of financing tools to its customers.
Enplan is governed by Entrust Pension Limited, a leading independent professional trustee company, and the Society will receive actuarial, investment and administration services from Isio.
Chris Harrison, Chief Executive Officer at the Furness Building Society, said: “Following a competitive tender process, we’re delighted to have selected Enplan to deliver more efficient and cost-effective DB pension scheme solutions for our business. The modernisation of our pension scheme was a natural next step in the Furness Building Society’s history, after a number of transformational steps we are taking to help us work more efficiently and offer better service to our customers.
“Despite the persistent market volatility, we made the decision to transfer our schemes into Enplan during the pandemic for the simplicity of the process, which required minimal levels of management time. In addition, as the effects of the pandemic have spread across industries, building societies’ already-growing focus on governance has been significantly accelerated. The immediate positive impact of joining Enplan on our governance has been clear, and we are confident of a successful future relationship between the Furness Building Society and Enplan.”
Andrew Goddard, Partner at Isio, said: “The Furness Building Society is the second building society that has decided to move to Enplan this year following competitive tenders which included other consolidation vehicles. This continues to show Enplan’s strong track record of innovation and commitment to accelerate a scheme’s journey plan, underpinned by strong governance.
“For some time, we’ve observed a growing demand from building societies for operational consolidators like Enplan, which help to relieve time pressures on management and improve governance standards and efficiency. We are pleased to include the Furness Building Society among our rapidly-expanding base of building society clients and look forward to working with them closely in the coming years.”
Stuart Evans, Director at Entrust, said: “We’re proud to have onboarded the Furness Building Society onto the Enplan platform; a particular success when considering that completion took place during a period defined by uncertainty. Overcoming the operational challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic is an achievement for all involved, and we look forward to strengthening the relationship between the Furness Building Society, Entrust and Isio further.”
