Workplace pension provider B&CE has rebranded to 'People's Partnership'.
As the company celebrated its 80th anniversary last night in London, chairperson Babloo Ramamurthy announced the change in the name, telling guests: "We continue to build on a wonderful legacy, and I know we have an exciting future ahead of us."
He said: "But without doubt, the world is a very different place now compared with 80 years ago. Since 1942, working life has completely transformed and planning for retirement is full of challenges.
"A standard five- day working week, and a career with a single employer, leading to a fixed retirement date has become virtually unheard of, the State can no longer meet all our retirement needs.
We want everyone to understand why and how we do what we do and to continue to be different in financial services.Patrick Heath-Lay"Complicated products, volatile markets, a lack of transparency and unfortunate scams have all impacted consumer trust in the industry, and what should be clear and straightforward has become opaque."
He said the name change reflected B&CE's pledge to help support all people from all occupations, to: "meet the need for a simple solution to deliver greater financial security for people working across all sectors in the UK".
According to the People's Partnership, the company has now more than 6mn workers enrolled through schemes run by more than 100,000 employers in the UK.
Collectively, those schemes have built up more than £17bn to provide for members’ retirements.
Patrick Heath-Lay, chief executive officer, said the name change reflected the fact the organisation serves people in every sector across the UK.
He said: "For a company that has gone about its business fairly quietly in the past, this is a statement of intent. We want everyone to understand why and how we do what we do and to continue to be different in financial services.”
Also at the event, Sir Stephen Timms MP, chairperson of the Work and Pensions committee, spoke of pledges to improve the pensions landscape for all Britons amid this cost-of-living crisis and help encourage people not to ditch contributions.
He told attendees: "People should not lose long-term the benefit of their employer contributions."
He also said the WPC would be working on liability driven investments over the coming days and weeks, and defined benefit schemes more widely in 2023.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
