OPDU is a provider of professional indemnity and liabilities insurance to pension trustees, administrators and sponsoring employers.
£125B
protected scheme assets
1997
Trusted since 1997
Occupational Pensions Defence Union
OPDU is a leading specialist provider of Pension Trustee Liability (PTL) insurance for ongoing schemes and Winding-Up cover for schemes that are winding up or have retiring Trustee boards. We bring peace of mind and protection to Trustees, pension schemes and their Sponsoring Companies.
We provide protection for maladministration, errors and omissions, regulatory fines and ombudsman complaints, to legal costs for defence, prosecution or other litigation, OPDU offers a broad range of cover that can be tailored to each pension scheme’s requirements. We can also cover professional Trustee firms for both PTL and Winding-Up cover.
An Advisory Council comprised of Pension Professionals, Trustees and Academics ensures that OPDU also adds additional value through risk management and loss prevention expertise, enabling us to stay at the forefront of Trustee Liability insurance and adding an extra layer of specialist Trustee Indemnity knowledge to our team.
Our market leading policies can provide cover for;
- Ongoing schemes via our Pension Trustee Liability (PTL) policy
- Schemes moving towards buy-out, scheme closure/consolidation or those with Retiring Trustee Boards via our PTL Run-off, aka Discontinuance Insurance policy
- Independent Professional Trustees via our Independent Pension Trustee Liability policy
- Overlooked / Missing Beneficiary Insurance
- Stand-alone Cyber cover for Pension Schemes
The risks are real...
The children of a deceased member complained that the Trustees should have exercised their discretion to award benefits on his death in their favour in line with the expression of wish form. Instead some of the lump sum was paid to his co-habitee with the balance going into a trust the income from which was to be paid to her for life and on her death the capital to the surviving children. But she did not come under the definition of dependant under the rules. The Ombudsman found maladministration and ordered each trustee to pay compensation to the children in addition to the death benefits. The decision was upheld in court.
Trustees were required to make good a scheme deficit and it was agreed that the sponsor would pay additional contributions. But the employers’ cash flow was unable to meet the extra payments and the Trustees (who were directors and shareholders of the employer) lent the employer the same amount as the extra payments. The employer went into administration. The Ombudsman held that the loans were maladministration and ordered the Trustees to pay the loans from their own resources. The appeal was dismissed.
Husband and wife were trustees of a small DB scheme and the only members. The husband ran off with most of the scheme assets. Removal of the assets resulted in a large tax charge. Despite being innocent, the wife was landed with the entire tax bill because of the joint and several liability rule. The appeal was upheld.
Our Solution
The OPDU Elite Policy can protect your personal assets and stand between you, the scheme and employer. It has been designed to cover you as Trustee, as well as any in house pension employees (including directors) and the scheme.
A policy from OPDU can form an effective part of a Scheme’s risk management strategy bringing together a complete risk management framework. OPDU protection stands in front of the various parties’ interests providing a quick solution as opposed to delay and expense when parties disagree or their responsibility needs to be determined.
Talk to us
It will cost you nothing to talk to us so please feel free to make contact, we’ll be happy to help.
Our Partners Include
