ADMINISTRATION DISCRETIONS & BENEFITS COMMITTEE [ADB COMMITTEE]

Introduction

The Administration Discretions & Benefits Committee, under delegated authority of the Trustee, is responsible for overseeing the correct administration of the plan, reviewing quarterly management accounts, cashflow statements, exercising discretions under the Rules of the Plan in relation to benefits and also dealing with the first stage of complaints via the Internal Disputes Resolution (IDR) procedure.

It is constituted as follows:

1 Independent  Trustee Director (appointed Chairman by the Trustee Board) 
2 Member Nominated Trustee Directors
1 Former member of the Consultative Committee

Appointments are for a 3 year period and members are eligible for re-election at the end of their term.

• BESTrustees plc (represented by Bruce McNess) - Independent Trustee and Chairman of the ADB
• Brian Izzard – Member Nominated Trustee
• Norma Bowles – Trustee Board Director
• Robert Fowell – Former Consultative Committee Representative

BESTrustees plc (represented by Bruce McNess) - Independent Trustee and Chairman of the ADB

Bruce has worked in pensions since 1979. For ten years he was an investment manager responsible for the bond and property portfolios of Reed International’s pension schemes. Bruce qualified as a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and as an Associate of the Society of Investment Analysts.

In 1989 Bruce transferred to the role of professional pension scheme trustee, firstly with Law Debenture and, from July 2006, with BESTrustees. Bruce has a very wide experience as trustee of all types of occupational pension schemes and the issues they face (including investment, funding, governance and risk reviews, mergers, benefit changes, Clearance Notices and Assessment Periods). He has acted as trustee of large and small schemes throughout the British Isles and has direct experience of working with all of the principal suppliers of services to pension schemes. He has carried out special assignments to neutralise conflicts of interest etc. and spoken and published articles on investment and governance issues. He has worked successfully with management, member and pensioner trustees to achieve and maintain best practice in a field that has been subject to considerable change.

Brian Izzard – Member Nominated Trustee

Brian took early retirement in 2001 having worked for Nortel (and previously STC) since 1998 at the Basildon and New Southgate sites. He was a professional engineer (C. Eng, MiMechE) but spent most of his working career in the commercial and legal arena where he was Commercial Director for Nortel both in Europe and subsequently in Singapore for Asia Pacific.

Brian became a Trustee Director in April 2008 and joined the ADB committee in September 2009. He also works as an voluntary adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Norma Bowles – Trustee Board Director

Norma was appointed to the ADB Committee in April 2005. Norma is also a member of the Trustee Board and more information on her can be found under that section of this website.  Norma is also a pensioner representative on the Consultative Committee.

Robert Fowell – Former Consultative Committee Representative

Rob was appointed to this Committee in April 2005. Rob was also a member of the Consultative Committee and has retained his place on the ADB for the time being.

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