If you need to think about where the pensions markets are going, there is no shortage of pension conferences offered by asset managers and others, and pension strategy papers offered by think tanks and new regulations and consultation papers offered by government departments.
But they are not designed to bounce ideas off your peers, or to expose you to new thinking in the field. In practice there are few opportunities to help shape thinking on pensions policy in discussion with your peers, outside the trade bodies or interact with senior people working in adjacent but relevant fields.
For nearly 20 years The Pensions Network (TPNW) has allowed thinkers in the pension field to explore developments in pensions matters. It meets in person four times a year (and occasionally online) in congenial surroundings, away from normal surroundings, and covers a broad range of issues not normally available in discussions, and in confidence, with a regular group of senior strategic thinkers.
Residential Meetings
Our residential meetings, held under the Chatham House rule to encourage open debate, new learning and thinking, start at 17:30 on a Thursday and finish at 13:35 on Friday. There are usually six main speakers with ample time allowed for discussion after each presentation. There are also several networking opportunities offering the priceless opportunity for 1-1 conversations during coffee breaks, at the bar, over dinner or at breakfast with the other delegates. Included is dinner and overnight accommodation on the Thursday, breakfast, and lunch on the Friday. Locations are typically within 50 miles of central London. The objective is open, relaxed, and constructive debate in an informal environment, allowing the opportunity for members to interact with their peers, colleagues, and friends.
Lively, Engaged Debate
A key feature of our meetings is the time dedicated to debate. Speakers are invited to present formally for approximately 35-40 minutes, with the same time allowed for questions and discussion. The maximum number of delegates admitted to our meetings is 45: in our experience the optimal size to facilitate engaged, high quality and spontaneous debate. Each seminar provides 6 speakers who are all experts in their fields and excellent presenters.
Online Meetings were quickly set up to fill a gap when the pandemic restrictions curtailed our residential meetings. Held over 90 minutes with 2-4 speakers, they have proved extremely popular with our members. These too are held under the Chatham House rule.
Meetings are held over a 24 hour period including a private dinner and overnight stay.
Our first meeting was held in June 2006.
To celebrate a decade of The Pensions Network we held a special event in London on the 4th October 2016, there were many senior figures within the Pensions Arena in attendance. A star studded list of speakers including Steve Webb, Baroness Jeannie Drake, Joanne Segars, Chris Curry, Paul Johnson and many others helped us look forward to the pensions and savings landscape in ten years’ time.
We are currently planning our 20th Anniversary event.
John Moret – Chairman
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John Moret has been Chair of The Pensions Network since March 2010. He is a non-practicing actuary and has worked in the pensions industry for over 55 years! He runs his own consultancy business MoretoSIPPs which specialises in the SIPP market. John is often referred to as “Mr SIPP” having spent much of his working life since 1990 promoting the advantages of SIPPs. He has worked closely with Government and regulators on a range of issues including helping to shape the original income drawdown regime introduced in 1995. He is a valued commentator on wider pension issues and still writes occasional articles for the industry trade press. He is non-executive chairman of a financial advisory business Intelligent Pensions Limited which is based in Glasgow. He is also non-executive chair of Investor in Customers – one of the UK’s leading independent authorities dedicated to assessing, improving, and accrediting Customer Experience. In his spare time, aside from travelling with his wife and enjoying the company of his grandchildren, he is a county level tennis player, a poor golfer and a Crystal Palace season ticket holder. |
Patricia McSherry – Director
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Patricia McSherry, Owner – The Net-Work Meetings Limited. The Net-Work Meetings Limited is the parent company of The Pensions Network (TPNW). Patricia deals with the membership, sponsorship, bookings and all the meeting logistics. She was introduced to the world of pensions when she worked for Malcolm Small (TPNW Founder and Chairman March 2006 to March 2010). She helped set up The Pensions Network (TPNW) in March 2006, The-Women’s-Insurance-Net-Work (TWIN) in February 2007 and The-Investment-Net-Work (TIN) in May 2007. She took over the company in December 2010. With a background in TV, Theatre, Cabaret, Fitness, Sales and Recruitment, Patricia’s work history is certainly not average. She has learned a great deal from her wide range of experiences. She was a village Councillor from 2012 to Spring 2025. Was elected Chairman in May 23 and served on every committee. She is an active volunteer at Zenith Youth Theatre Company in Bath, is Chair of its Management Committee and has a seat on the Board of Trustees. |
Representing our Sponsor, Bravura is:
Jonathan Hawkins
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Jonathan Hawkins, Proposition Lead EMEA – Bravura Jonathan is a passionate and experienced pensions and financial services technologist, he designs forward-thinking solutions to complex problems and consults with wealth platforms, pensions schemes and industry on pensions, financial services, automations and tech by providing over 25 years of experience and insight from administration, automation and tech. Jonathan gained his experience through 25 years’ within the UK & Irish markets within both Trust based and contract based firms. He is an occasional platform speaker, vid-caster, conversationalist and party bore on workplace savings, financial services, and fintech. Jonathan has always been in and around workplace pensions and is excited to work to deliver new and innovative workplace financial wellness options, brilliantly automated and self service solutions for employers and the wider saving public. He has a desire to remove complexity, duplication and poor service. |
Other Advisory Board Members are:
Chris Connelly
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Chris Connelly, Chief Strategy Officer – Heywood Pension Technologies. Non-exec Director, Pension Administration Standards Association. He is an organised, experienced, problem solver working in Data, Financial Services Software and Outsourcing Services where he displays a wealth of technical and interpersonal skills. His rare balance of creative, technical and analytical skills mean that any day can vary from setting strategy, writing engaging content, presenting thought leadership at conferences to specifying a detailed blueprint for new legislative updates for Heywood’s solutions. His in-depth knowledge of life, pensions and investment products, the market and his company’s solutions means that he is regularly engaged in all aspects of business solutions from initial proposition through to delivery, including working with clients to get the best out of their implementations or service. His recent work at Heywood has seen the business grow from a UK supplier to a global one, with clients across AsiaPAC and North America. Through his work at PASA, he has seconded into the Pensions Dashboards Programme and sits on the programme’s advisory group. For his collaborative work across the industry, he was voted Pensions Personality of the Year by the readers of Pensions Age magazine. |
Emma Douglas
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Emma Douglas, Wealth Policy Director, UK Insurance, Wealth & Retirement (IWR) business – Aviva. Emma joined Aviva in 2021 as Director of Workplace Savings and Retirement with responsibility for leading its workplace pensions business. Later that same year, she was also appointed as the Chair of Pensions UK (formerly PLSA). Emma has over 25 years of experience in the pensions industry. |
Robin Ellison
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Robin Ellison, Solicitor – College of Lawmakers Robin has practised as a solicitor for over 50 years, He acts for a number of foreign governments and government agencies. He was adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on BHS Pensions in 2016. He was a founder of the Association of Pensions Lawyers, being awarded its Wallace Prize in 1995 and in 1997 he was elected the first solicitor Honorary Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute. He was awarded the Industry Achievement award by Portfolio Institutional in 2013 and was European Pensions Personality of the year in 2017. He is the author of numerous books on pensions including a four volume loose-leaf Pensions Law and Practice, the Pension Trustees Handbook (7th ed, 2013) , Pension Fund Investment Law (2008), Pensions and Divorce (2010), Pensions for you and your business, (2013) Halsbury’s Laws Volume 80: Pensions (2013), and Red Tape: managing excess in law, regulation and the courts, Cambridge University Press (2018). He is editor of Pensions Benefits Law Reports and wrote a monthly column on pensions law for Pensions World for forty years. He is Visiting Professor in Pensions Law and Economics at Cass Business School, City, University of London and is a former Chairman of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. |
Chris Jones
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Chris Jones, Director – Director, Rock Consultancy. Chris is a Chartered Taxation Practitioner with a technical and advisory background, now specialising in SIPPs and the SIPP marketplace. He works with a range of clients on SIPP market, regulatory, legal, technical and commercial matters. Recent assignments have included: Restructuring schemes and migration of legacy customers to alternative arrangements (including detailed Customer Impact Assessments) | Design and launch of new products | Advice on marketplace focus and opportunities (and problem areas to avoid) | Market review for potential acquisitions and due diligence | Investigating alternative technology and administration options | Workplace arrangements | Consumer duty, including product management | Maximising returns on cash in context of capad requirements | Becoming a SIPP operator, launching a product and migration from 3rd party product | FCA thematic reviews and portfolio letters | Review of capped drawdown proposition, post 2014 changes | Review of commercial property proposition in context of increasing regulatory overheads | Commentary on FOS case for BBC Moneybox The continuing flow of regulatory and tax changes (and Ombudsman decisions) present challenges for many SIPP businesses – Rock is there to help unpack the implications and chart options for moving forwards. |
Darren Philp
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Darren is co-founder of Untamed Consulting. Darren specialises in providing policy, advocacy, PR and market engagement services to the pensions industry.Prior to that Darren was Director of Policy at Smart Pension, The People’s Pension, and the National Association of Pension Funds (now Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association), where he was active in the industry lobbying for change in pensions and financial services for the benefit of members and customers. Darren also spent 13 years at HM Treasury where he headed up the pensions team between 2007 and 2010 and was closely involved in the design and implementation of the UK’s flagship auto-enrolment programme. Darren is active within industry bodies through contributing to research, thought leadership and policy development work, and is a regular commentator in the media. He has sat on various PLSA and ABI committees and is now closely involved in the Pensions Administration Standards Association and the Pensions Management Institute. Darren is also a governor and trustee of the independent Pensions Policy Institute. |
Daniela Silcock
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Daniela Silcock, Director – DSPR Daniela is a pensions and policy expert with over 20 years of experience across government, parliament, charities, and research institutes. She is well known for her ability to translate complex issues into clear, actionable insights. She provides tailored research, policy analysis, regulatory briefings, and training to help organisations navigate the pensions landscape and shape effective strategies. Daniela is also a regular media contributor, with appearances on BBC News, ITV, Sky, and Radio 4’s Today Programme and MoneyBox. |
Emma Watkins
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Emma Watkins, CEO – Canada Life UK Emma is proud to be CEO of Canada Life UK, supporting their 3.5m UK customers to build financially secure futures. Canada Life provide retirement, investment and protection solutions to individuals, families, and companies, working in partnership with financial advisers. They’ve been active in the UK market for over 120 years, and Emma leads over 1,500 people in the UK and the Isle of Man. With over 20 years’ experience in financial services, prior to joining Canada Life Emma spent a decade at Scottish Widows as Managing Director, Retirement & Longstanding and was a member of the Executive Committee. Before this, she was a Partner at Land Clarke & Peacock LLP and held a number of senior roles within insurance businesses including MetLife Assurance Ltd and Ace European Group. Emma believes passionately that the power of the collective is the foundation for a truly people-centric organisation that delivers great customer outcomes, and throughout her career she worked to support and champion women in the workplace. Emma studied Microbiology at the University of Reading and is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and an ex-board member of the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA). |