Trustees of DB schemes will now have free access to range of communication tools regarding GMP equalisations.
This communication toolkit has been put together by a consortium of some of the UK’s largest DB schemes working with communication specialists Quietroom.
The toolkit includes an animation, which can be downloaded at www.gmpeasy.co.uk and has been developed to help schemes explain what GMP equalisations means in a clear, simple and engaging way to their members.
Speaking on behalf of the group of DB schemes partnering on the project, Kirsty Aljewicz, head of member communication at Brightwell says:“Communicating to members about GMP equalisation is something we’re all going to have to do but it’s far from simple.
“As we’re all grappling with this issue, we thought it would be great to work together on this challenge and develop something which not only benefits our own schemes but benefits the whole industry.”
Quietroom director Simon Grover adds: “It was fantastic to be asked to help deliver this project and it’s been great to be working with the partner schemes to develop and test a set of communications that will really help schemes explain GMPe to their members.
“Whether schemes decide to use the communications as is or decide to tailor them for their own needs, we hope they will be a good starting point for the complex communications challenges that schemes are facing.”
PASA chair Kim Gubler says: “We know communicating GMP equalisation is a real challenge because it’s such a complex subject, and so pleased to see an industry initiative which will support schemes explain how this affects pension savers in a straightforward way.
“We believe this will drive consistency in communication across the industry. This will be particularly important where people have multiple employers across their working lives. They could be receiving GMPe communications from several different sources, and if they all look different this will be so confusing. GMPe may be very complicated, but communications don’t have to be.”