Vanguard’s head of pensions, Andrew Marker, will replace Tom McPhail as chair of the Star Steering Group, which aims to improve standards on pension transfers.
The steering group is made up of senior professionals from across the pensions industry and is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Department for Work and Pensions, The Pensions regulator and other consumer groups.
McPhail was the founding chair of this Star initiative. He has stepped down from this role after leaving the pensions industry last month.
Marker is head of retail pensions for Vanguard and has worked in the industry for 25 years across both retail and occupational pensions. His experience spans operations, proposition and product design.
Marker is also an active member of the ABI Platforms Working group and in Europe the EFAMA Pension Standing Committee working on the Pan European Personal Pension (PEPP). He has worked with the UK regulators and through various trade bodies to help shape the UK retail pension regulations to further improve the pension industry in the UK.
Marker says: “I strongly believe in the development of a robust set of transfer standards adopted by all within the industry and the importance this will play in the success of the financial services within the UK market.
“Government and regulators have set a clear challenge to the industry: fix this for the benefit of your customers or we will impose regulations on you. It is essential that the perspective of the end retail investor is taken into account in the formulation of transfer standards.
“Within this framework it is also important to understand the challenges certain proposals may have on organisations operating in the UK market, both from a cost and practicality perspective.
“Implementing and evolving standards within the market will need to balance these challenges, but should improve the robustness, competitiveness and value-for-money of the UK pension and savings market.”