Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF) Trustee Report

As reported in the January/February 2022 edition of the Maritime Pensions Campaign newsletter the structure of MNRPF Trustee Board was due to move from five board members to three Independent Trustees. Each of the Nominating Bodies, RMT and the Employers Group, nominated one of the three Independent Trustees with third, the Chair of the Trustee Board, being nominated by the Maritimes Pensions Forum which is made up of representatives of RMT and the Employers Group.

RMT nominated Lionel Sampson who is employed by the Trade Union the CWU and is an experienced pension trustee on many other schemes. Lionel, below, gives his first report for the Maritime Pension Campaign Newsletter on how the MNRPF Trustee Board has operated since the transition to three trustees’ took place on 1st October 2022.

“ It’s been just over a year since RMT nominated me as an Independent Trustee of the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF) and, with my fellow Trustees, that year has been very hectic and has dealt with some very important issues.

By way of background, I have been involved in pension schemes as a Trustee for over 25 years and I am also a Senior Policy Advisor to the General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union.

The MNRPF Trustee Board has changed and I would have to say a massive thank you to the former Trustees for their support and help in dealing with the transition. We would not have been able to introduce the new arrangement without their help or support.

Some of the key issues we are dealing with and are dominating the Trustee agenda are reviewing the cost of running the scheme, dealing with day to day issues in a timely way and ensuring that the membership of the scheme are front and centre when it comes to all decision making.

The MNRPF is not a small fund with net assets of £1,202,701 and a total membership of 17,727. There is a lot of work to be done to keep the fund on the road.

There are a number of important projects being dealt with by the Trustees and one of the most important projects is the work in implementing the settlement on ill health early retirement benefits referred to as “Project Greenwich”. Hundreds of members have been communicated with and are now being processed and are receiving correct pension and payments for the money owed from previous years with interest paid on top.

Other projects are also underway which will take up our time but in essence these are all about ensuring members receive the correct pension.

An important role for the Trustees is improving the communications with our members. We are revamping the members newsletter – it needs to be shorter and free of jargon. As members your input in the project will be welcomed. We are also looking at redesigning the website and make it easier to access and provide more comprehensive information about the fund.

My first year as an Independent Trustee in the MNRPF has been a revelation. I believe the scheme is being managed and run in a professional way.”

You can read the latest newsletter and ask questions about your MNRPF pension online at www.mnrpf.co.uk/library.php

Lionel Sampson, RMT nominated MNRPF Independent Trustee Director