Scottish Widows has appointed former regulator Mike Birch to be a professional trustee of its master trust.
Birch is a client director with Vidett and has an extensive background in pensions, banking and regulation.
He worked for more than a decade at The Pensions Regulator (TPR), where he helped develop the regulator’s approach to both Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) and superfunds.
Birch was a member of TPR’s regulatory decisions committee, responsible for authorising master trusts and several project oversight committees. In this role he led on some of the regulator’s most challenging and high profile engagements.
Prior to TPR, Birch worked in corporate banking and was also part of the UK Government Investments (UKGI) team working to respond to the global financial crisis.
He is accredited as a professional trustee by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) and is a member of the APPT legislation and regulation sub-committee.
He joins the trustee board alongside Jonathan Reynolds, Joanne Fairbairn, Cheryl Black and Gerald Wellesley, who, although recently retired from Vidett, continues to serve as an independent trustee.
Scottish Widows Master Trust chair Jonathan Reynolds says: “[Birch] will bring valuable experience from his work at The Pensions Regulator and in banking and pensions, as well as deep technical knowledge, all of which will be hugely beneficial to the Scottish Widows Master Trust.”
Jerry Butcher, workplace and accumulation director at Scottish Widows adds: “This is a pivotal time for workplace pensions and I’m looking forward to working with Birch on continuing to grow the master trust. His experience will further enhance the strength of the trustee board and support our collective commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for members.”
