The document discusses the need for greater transparency of pension costs in the UK. It notes that total cost of ownership is an important factor for pension schemes but is often poorly understood. This affects schemes' long-term ability to meet liabilities. KAS BANK can help provide transparency by collecting and analyzing cost data across schemes to identify hidden costs and compare schemes' costs. Their platform identifies a spectrum of pension costs and delivers comprehensive analysis to help trustees ensure value and efficiency.

1. How much are you really paying for your scheme?
Is your Trustee Board achieving “Value for money”?
What factors are affecting the returns of your scheme’s
investments? What are the “Hidden Costs” that you
are not aware of? These are all questions Trustees
increasingly have to consider as they look to the
sustainability and performance of DB Pension Schemes.
Learn how KAS BANK can help answer them.
The Transparency Challenge
Amidst growing demand for greater transparency across
the UK Financial Services sector, UK pensions and their
intricacies have come under review, with one area of
particular focus being transparency of costs. ‘Total Cost
of Ownership’ is now recognised as an important
element for schemes about which little is often under-
stood. This is having a fundamental effect on the
long-term ability of pension schemes to meet their
liabilities. Authorities, regulators and consumers are all
demanding increased disclosure around costs to give a
true and accurate view of long-term performance of
pension savings. We believe trustee boards should be
able to demand the same.
Providing useful industry-wide analysis requires consist-
ent and comparable data yet currently each scheme
utilises a different methodology for reporting the cost
and fees associated with its operations. Efforts have
been made to better understand the costs incurred
throughout a scheme’s value chain, but no party yet
offers this data or provides analysis back to the industry
in the UK. Typically, this is because the party either lacks
the expertise/capabilities to perform the complete
analysis or the party is conflicted in some way by other
services it offers.
The benefits of understanding costs
Greater transparency of costs can help you:
• Ensure you are receiving value relative to
performance
• Open up avenues for better negotiation with
providers
• Identify areas where there may be opportunity for
greater efficiency
• Keep ahead of potential increases in regulation
Transparency of your costs plays a vital role in your
governance chain, helping your scheme to meet its
liabilities.
Cost Transparency
for Pension Funds
Develop

2. Pat Sharman
Director of Pensions UK
E: pat.sharman@kasbank.com
T: +44 (0)20 7153 3660
Matthijs Verweij
Business Development Manager Pensions UK
E: matthijs.verweij@kasbank.com
T: +44 (0)20 7153 3670
How can KAS BANK help?
As an independent organisation, KAS BANK avoids any
conflicts of interests and so is both willing and able to
provide this service. Moreover, as a Custodian Fund
Accountant, we are the industry leaders in understand-
ing the nature of the data and where the costs occur
along the value chain.
Introducing transparency on a wide scale will enable
scheme trustees to have a greater understanding of the
true total costs which are being incurred and so allow
them to conduct fully informed discussions with their
scheme service providers and advisers.
Our Cost Transparency Platform
Our platform can identify and capture an advanced
spectrum of pension scheme costs, delivering compre-
hensive look-through capability. We can combine UK
cost data with valuable Dutch administration data (often
considered to be the industry standard for cost transpar-
ency) to create a broad universe of comparable cost
categories. This provides a transparent view of your
scheme and establishes how your costs compare to your
peers.
Individual schemes receive a report presenting the
collected information in a clear manner showing the
allocation of costs across all activities.
The report includes:
• Visual breakdown of administrative and investment
management costs in relation to peers and wider
market participants.
• Ability to see what your scheme is paying service
providers in comparison to the wider industry, and a
full analysis into the breakdown of costs.
The report will be tailored to different levels of stake-
holder education/experience, to ensure that maximum
insight is delivered enabling you to remain in control
24/7.
Contact
To learn more about how KAS BANK can help you understand your costs please contact:
Develop - Cost Transparency Solutions