Aegon publishes on its website:
“The authorisation programme initiative by the Pensions Regulator follows a period of significant growth in the master trust market. Many trusts were initially established to service the large number of employees now saving for retirement through auto enrolment. Master trusts have become the preference for many employers as they seek to move away from the costs of providing single-employer trust-based schemes while retaining a similar level of governance.
Authorisation will raise master trust standards in a fast growing area of the workplace pension market by a thorough examination of scheme’s capabilities in areas such as their systems and processes and financial sustainability. In future all master trusts will need to have business plans, continuity strategies and access to ring-fenced assets to protect members’ benefits should a trust be wound up.
Aegon’s master trust was acquired as part of the acquisition of BlackRock’s Defined Contribution business which also came with Own Trust and Investment Only capabilities. The master trust formally became Aegon Master Trust (AMT) in July 2018 and is a growing part Aegon’s workplace business. In February total assets under management (AUM) in the Aegon Master Trust reached £1bn.”