PCST 360 report: What sponsors and advisers are telling us

Sponsoring employers have credited the Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) model with improving governance, efficiency and speed of decision-making as more schemes adopt this approach to deliver the best outcomes for members, according to our latest PCST 360 report.

For the first time since launching the annual research three years’ ago, we have enhanced the report to include research drawn from both sponsors and leading advisory firms, to understand the experiences and expectations of the entire PCST market.

Every sponsor surveyed reported improved governance as a result of appointing a PCST. Almost three in five (58%) said the governance improvements were “significant”. Furthermore, four in five sponsors (79%) said they now spend less time managing their pension scheme, ensuring they can focus on other priorities to effectively run their businesses.

Decisive decision-making

IGG has been monitoring attitudes towards the growth of PCST appointments through the lens of advisory firms since 2022. Our latest study captures views from 12 leading firms who collectively advise almost 10,000 schemes, including more than 1,000 where a PCST model is in place.

In our latest edition, we also examined the outcomes experienced by scheme sponsors who have chosen to appoint a PCST.

Asked about the main benefit they have seen since making the switch, 37% of sponsors cited quicker decision-making – highlighting how the streamlined PCST approach can enable more decisive action.

Almost one in three sponsors (32%) singled out increased expertise as the main benefit, with 79% experiencing this benefit overall.

Graph 1 – The main benefits sponsors experience when switching to PCST

Advisory firms also pinpointed quicker decision-making as the key benefit driving sponsors to consider the PCST model, followed by increased expertise and reduced demands on time for sponsor management.

PCST perception gap

Sponsors’ positive experiences help to address many common concerns prior to adopting the model, while also highlighting a PCST perception challenge to tackle among some audiences.

While more than one in three sponsors (37%) said they had no concerns before switching, others had reservations about increased costs (16%), slower decision-making (11%) and member perception (11%).

Advisory firms also highlighted perceptions among members and existing trustees as common barriers which hold sponsors back from considering a switch. One in three advisory firms (33%) pointed to a lack of sponsor knowledge about the PCST model and the benefits it offers.

Growth expectations

One industry survey suggests that 25% of UK pension schemes now have a PCST in place, up from 12% in 2021. Separate industry analysis shows that PCSTs account for 42% of professional trustee firms’ appointments, compared with 35% in 2023.[1]

Looking ahead, our research shows a large majority of advisory firms (83%) expect growth to continue in 2026. This includes 25% who expect ‘significant’ growth. The overall figure is only modestly down from 2025 when 93% of firms expected the adoption of the PCST model to grow.

Advisers report that many mid-to-large schemes are being impacted by the same factors that have driven wider adoption among small schemes. These include increasing complexity, regulatory requirements and resourcing challenges. This is backed up by IGG’s own experiences of increasing PCST appointments by larger schemes with upwards of £500m or £1bn of assets under management.

Other factors expected to fuel uptake include developments in The Pensions Regulator’s oversight framework and the challenge of managing the complex market environment. Advisory firms also report that many schemes where a professional trustee has already been appointed intend to move to PCST in the next 12-18 months.

However, those firms who expect growth to slow suggest that some sponsors have already ruled out the PCST model in favour of a co-trustee approach.

Annabelle Hardiman, Trustee Director and Head of PCST at IGG, comments: “For the first time, we have expanded our PCST 360 Report to include insights from sponsors as well as advisers, providing a 360-degree view of attitudes towards the PCST model.

“Governance pressures mean sponsors continue to spend a material amount of time on pension matters, with pension schemes constantly having to adapt to market and regulatory complexities while juggling internal resource challenges.

“Doing the right thing for members in this new context often means revisiting what’s worked in the past and weighing up alternatives to ensure sponsors have the best solution in place for today’s realities.

“No one approach is right for every scenario, but our findings show implementing a PCST model typically results in quicker and more agile decision-making, simplified governance as well as the efficiencies that come with greater access to professional expertise.

“The PCST model has emerged as an attractive and increasingly well-established solution, to the extent that for many sponsors, the question is no longer whether it works, but actually when it becomes the right option for their scheme. There are clear signs that more sponsors of mid-to-large schemes are already asking themselves this question, but it is important to ensure that members and existing trustees are taken on the journey.”

For more information, the full PCST 360 report can be viewed here.

Key Contact