The bodies argue bringing together the NAPF’s ability to influence and engage with Government and regulators and the PMI’s qualifications network would create a more substantial organisation.
The organisations will now enter into a six to nine month assessment of how a merger could work.
PMI president Paul Couchman says: “Never has the pace of change in the pensions industry been as rapid as it has been over the past year. Our initial discussions have shown that pooling the resources and experience of our two organisations to deal with the seismic shifts in the pensions landscape seems to make good sense. An organisation combining our complementary areas of expertise would provide all our members with access to a single organisation that could offer comprehensive training and qualifications while effectively representing their interests to Government and regulators. We look forward to discussing in more detail at how we might bring this ambition to fruition.”
NAPF chairman Ruston Smith says: “In such a fundamentally dynamic environment, it’s important to consider strategic options that further strengthen our association and enable us to meet the needs of our members both today and tomorrow. The complementary services, strengths and capabilities of both our organisations offer great opportunities to provide an overall stronger proposition for our members, including even better education and a stronger voice to promote the importance of workplace pensions and retirement benefits for savers in the UK. This is an exciting opportunity where, together, we can make a real difference.”
