We sat down with Darren Tish, one of our Company Appointed Trustee Directors for a chat. Darren has a special interest and expertise in tax and we spoke to him about his life as a Trustee Director and tax related matters related to your pension that you should know about.

Hello Darren, thanks very much for giving us some of your time today. Firstly, could you let us know how long you’ve been on the Trustee Board for?

I was appointed as a Trustee Director in November 2021, so have just completed my first six months on the Trustee Board – the time has really flown by! I was approached by a colleague at M&G who thought I’d be a good fit on the Trustee Board. It was an opportunity that was too good to miss out on!

For those at M&G who don’t know you, could you give us a little insight into your background?

I grew up in Chigwell in Essex (which was made famous by the BBC sitcom, ‘Birds of a Feather’ – something that I was teased about at Reading University, where I studied!) After university, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1999 and after a couple of years I decided I wanted to specialise in tax. I joined KPMG in 2001 and worked there for about 12 years and then had a short stint at PWC. I then decided I wanted to move away from ‘practice’ and go into ‘industry’ and that’s when I joined M&G in 2014, where I’ve been ever since. I’m part of the Tax Team and am currently Head of Tax Compliance, my primary responsibility is to ensure the M&G Group remain compliant with their corporate tax obligations across the globe. It’s busy and challenging, but I really love my role and working at M&G.

It certainly does sound busy! You mentioned earlier that you’ve been on the Trustee Board now for six months, what have you most enjoyed during that time?

What I have enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) is learning how pension schemes work – it’s certainly been a steep learning curve but seeing how the two Sections fit together with their constituent parts has been great. I’ve also really enjoyed meeting the other Trustee Directors on the Trustee Board and the advisers, who are all really interesting and experienced people who I’ve enjoyed learning from. I sit on the Audit and Governance Committee, but I’ve also enjoyed sitting in on and observing a number of the other committees where I’ve absorbed a lot of information on risk and other important areas of Scheme management.

So, with your ‘tax governance hat’ on, what do you think are the main tax issues related to the pension that Prudential Staff Pension Scheme members should know about?

Well, I think the first thing people should understand is just how tax efficient the pension is as a savings vehicle. As someone who works in tax, I perhaps take it for granted that people realise this. So, for the Defined Contribution (DC) Section of the Scheme, you put money into your pension and any tax you would have paid on that money you basically get that back as ‘relief’ and then that gets added into the Personal Account as well. So as an example, if you’re a higher rate taxpayer (paying 40% on your earnings) and you put £100 into your Personal Account, this will only cost you £60, on top of that the Company also contributes – so it really represents a tax efficient way of saving. The Contributions Calculator on the Scheme website is a great way to find out how contributions within the Scheme work.

The other thing members should be mindful of is the ‘allowances’ associated with the pension. You do have limits on what you can pay into your pension whilst still receiving tax relief. The main allowances are the ‘Annual Allowance’ and ‘Lifetime Allowance’. The Annual Allowance is the maximum amount of pension savings that you can make which will qualify for tax relief in any tax year – this is currently set at £40,000 per year (in most cases), so anything you add to your Personal Account over that amount in a year, you’ll not receive tax relief on. The Lifetime Allowance is the limit on the amount of pension benefits that you can accumulate during your working life which will qualify for tax relief - this is currently set at £1,073,100. So members should bear these in mind and should consider seeking professional financial advice if they think they’re affected by this.

Do you have any top tips for anyone who would be interested in being a Trustee Director in the future?

There’s lots of accessible information available out there about how pension schemes work, so I would advise people interested in becoming a Trustee Director, to seek out this information and try to get to grips with it. I’d also recommend maybe speaking to some of the existing Trustee Directors on the Trustee Board – I found this invaluable before I joined the Trustee Board as it gave me insight into some of the things I would be getting involved with, the sub-committees and what they are responsible for, but also the time commitments – this should not be under-estimated!

And what do you think the key skills needed to be a Trustee Director are?

To be a Trustee Director I think you need to have an understanding of risks associated with pension schemes and also have a willingness to challenge. The Trustee Board is very open and engaging so in the meetings I’ve attended I’ve felt comfortable with speaking up with ideas and to question why things are done a certain way. I also think you need to be able to distil and articulate lots of information quickly. But the key thing is understanding the risks that are out there and being able to put plans in place to manage those risks.

What have been the main challenges and highlights during your first six months on the Trustee Board?

So, my day job is pretty full on, so I think the main challenge for me has been creating the space for the role of Trustee Director to give it the commitment it needs. But the role of Trustee Director is a unique opportunity and something that I’m really passionate about, so I’ve managed to find the time and am always willing to read Trustee Board papers and carry out other related duties over the weekend and in the evenings.

Since I joined the Trustee Board we’ve only had one ‘in-person’ meeting, with the majority of meetings being virtual – which obviously carries its own challenges, I think it’s always better to meet people in person if possible. I have to say though that my fellow Trustee Directors have been really great in helping me settle into the role. I also think a challenge and highlight has been, as I discussed before, the steep learning curve. There are so many talented and experienced people on the Trustee Board and in the wider Pension Team and it has been great learning from them.

It certainly sounds like it’s been a challenging and rewarding six months. Looking ahead now, what do you see as some of the things on the horizon within the pensions landscape that the Trustee Board will need to consider?

Well, this isn’t only relevant for pensions, but one thing that organisations and schemes need to think about is ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance). Members are gaining much more awareness of these issues and are becoming more mindful of where their money is being invested and the impact it’s having on the wider world - it’s up to us to provide information on those investments. So, the challenges for us, particularly for the Defined Contribution (DC) Section, is ensuring that we have the right funds and lifestyles available and also communicating this to members, so they are engaged with and understand their options.

Inflation is also a hot topic at the moment, with members perhaps concerned about the future spending power of their savings. This is also prevalent for our Pensioner members, who may also be concerned about the rising cost of living. We need to understand the impact of these issues as a Trustee Board and communicate appropriately.

Cyber security is also very important and ensuring we continue to have robust policies in place to manage these risks.

Thanks again for your time today Darren, but before you go, perhaps you can let us know what you like to do in your spare time?

So, I’m married, have three daughters and a dog. My eldest daughter is at university and my middle one is currently doing A-Levels, my youngest is 11 and is about to finish primary school – she’s really into performing arts, so I really enjoy watching her perform and take part in competitions.

My main passion, apart from my family, is Tottenham Hotspur. I’m a Spurs season ticket holder and I’ve been going to watch them with my dad and brother for many years.

I also like to keep fit and recently bought a Peloton so I try to use that three or four times a week!

I also really enjoy walking my dog, he’s a Cavapoochon (pictured) and is always by my side when I’m working from home!

That’s great! Hopefully we’ll speak to you soon, good luck with the coming months on the Trustee Board – and of course to Tottenham Hotspur!