Sovereign selected to provide Guernsey’s secondary pension scheme

Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Limited has been selected by the Guernsey government as the preferred bidder to provide its new secondary pensions scheme, confirmed in an announcement by the Committee for Employment & Social Security after it concluded a tender process with local pension providers.

The main aim of the secondary pension scheme is to support more working age people in Guernsey to save for their retirement, thereby enabling them to enjoy a more comfortable retirement and controlling welfare expenditure in the longer-term.

Under secondary pension legislation, Guernsey employers will be required to contribute at least minimum levels into either a qualifying pension scheme or into the new secondary pension scheme, called Your Island Pension (YIP), following automatic enrolment of their employees.

Sean Gillease, Managing Director of Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Limited, said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the YIP scheme provider. We look forward to working with the States of Guernsey and the wider public to deliver a meaningful benefit to employers and employees in the Bailiwick.

“Sovereign has worked with clients across various industries (not just financial services) and with businesses of all sizes; this experience should position us well to deliver this unique solution.”

Sovereign will operate the scheme by providing trustee and administration services, while Guernsey-based Ravenscroft will provide the investment management services.

Guernsey’s parliament, the States of Guernsey, approved the detailed proposals for Your Island Pension in 2020. However, the Committee said it would return to the States this year to seek approval for the revised scheme and to seek approval for the legislation that will underpin it.

Deputy Peter Roffey, President of the Committee for Employment & Social Security, said: “It was encouraging to see local pension providers showing such interest in partnering with the States to deliver Your Island Pension and we’re really pleased to have selected Sovereign as our preferred bidder and look forward to working with them.”

The auto-enrolment obligations for employers will be phased-in according to the number of employees, starting with larger employers. The Committee said it was very conscious that employers and payroll providers need sufficient time to prepare, and it will be liaising with Sovereign this month and then confirming the commencement date, which is currently set to be January 2023.