V-FM: The Pensions Podcast

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to Willis Towers Watson's Simon Eagle. Simon has been instrumental in the development of CDC in the UK, being the scheme actuary for the Royal Mail CDC scheme. We chatted through the evolution of CDC in the UK, the original ideas behind defined ambition, the introduction of the Royal Mail scheme, and what next for CDC, including retirement-only CDC. We also discussed the challenges of introducing retirement-only CDC and how some of these challenges can be addressed in the context of how people turn their pension pot into a retirement income. We found out how Simon got into pensions and, of course, what value for money means to him.  

Happy New Year to all our listeners! In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren welcome 2026 in what will be (another) busy year for pensions. As well as chatting about the festive season (and Nico’s house fire - don’t worry all ended up ok!), we take a look at what to expect in 2026... and have an impromptu discussion about the Pensions Schemes Bill and Fiduciary duty among a host of other things.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren chat to pensions lawyer extraordinaire, Robin Ellison. Robin is not shy with his views on policy and regulation and the podcast takes a whistle stop tour through many of the issues the pensions industry is grappling with currently. As well as welcoming the new pensions minister, we talk about Robin's foray into politics with the 'U' party, his views on regulatory policy and regulation including current initiatives to promote value for money and force consolidation, and a pension scheme investing in bitcoin. We also discuss climate change and the devastating fires in Los Angeles. We find out how Robin got into pensions and ask Robin what value for money means to him. Tune in to hear all this and a whole lot more!  It's celebration time for VFM as this is the 100th episode of the podcast (including a number of specials that we have recorded over the past couple of years). Here's to the next 100 episodes!

A Happy New Year to all our listeners!! In this episode of V-FM Pensions, Darren and Nico kick off the year with an in depth discussion of the UK Government's consultation on reforms to the Defined Contribution pension market. This consultation is part of the Mansion House package of measures published on 14 November 2024. We chat through the main elements of the consultation including: the (flawed?) premise behind the Mansion House agenda; what scale really means and what we actually mean by a default; bulk transfers without consent; and the role of employers and advisers in choosing a pension scheme. This is our response to the Government's consultation. Fair to say it asks more questions than it answers, but we hope it helps and that others find it useful as they go about pulling together their own responses.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions Darren and Nico chat to one of the architects of auto enrolment in the UK and current NEST CEO Helen Dean.   Helen talks about her role in helping to deliver the biggest pension reform ever seen in the UK and the creation of NEST. This episode has it all.... pensions, the need for scale, productive finance, wider savings and financial wellbeing, and, of course, we ask Helen what value for money means to her. 

In this episode of V-FM, Darren and Nico chat to Sir Steve Webb about politics, pensions and his time leading the pensions charge during his time as pensions minister.   Steve was in post for 5 years and broke the mould of having a new pensions minister every nine months or so. He was instrumental in reviewing and helping to deliver the auto enrolment reforms and in the introduction of the single tier pension. He also had his finger prints on the pensions triple lock; the Lib Dem manifesto commitment that made its way into the Coalition Agreement. He certainly made the most of his time in the pensions hot seat!   We talk PLSA retirement living standards, tax relief and the LTA, triple lock and the state pension, pensions freedom and choice, small pots consolidation and pot for life, and a whole lot more! We also find out what value for money means to Steve.

In this episode of V-FM, the pensions podcast, Darren and Nico chat the Pension Policy Institute's Chris Curry. Chris is also Principal of the Pensions Dashboards programme. As usual, topics for discussion are wide and varied: labour's pensions review, DC priorities for 2024, consolidation, the PPI's Policy Wheel, state pensions, admin, data and dashboards and, of course, what value for money means to Chris! (spoiler: it's the PPI!) As an added bonus, and in a V-FM podcast first, Nico gets to crack the first quantum mechanics joke on V-FM!  

In the first V-FM special of 2024, Nico and Darren talk to Lord David Willets of Havant. Lord Willets served as Minister of State for Universities and Science from 2010 until July 2014, as well as being in John Major’s Government in the mid 1990s. He became a member of the House of Lords in 2015 and is President of the Resolution Foundation. This podcast has it all: intergenerational inequality and his book titled 'The Pinch', state pensions, housing, auto enrolment, and productive finance. We also, of course, ask Lord Willets what value for money means to him.

In this season opener, Darren and Nico chat to Scottish Widows' Pete Glancy and Rob Cochran. We welcomed Rob back to the pod to talk about his Mountain Warehouse rucksack, and Pete joined us to talk snooker and fine wines. In the podcast we look forward to the year ahead and chat about the importance of communicating effectively. We talk Big Zuu and pensions attention, pot for life, the pensions mirror, understanding members, and, of course, value for money and consolidation.  

When two pension geeks have an idea (developed over a few pints) to start a Podcast on value for money in pensions: V-FM. In this Pilot Episode Nico Aspinall and Darren Philp chat about value for money and why they have set up this weekly show. Next week Darren and Nico will be joined by our first guest, David Butcher, Trustee of the Scottish Widows' and People's Pension Mastertrusts.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions hosts Darren and Nico chat to Pan Trustees' Nicholas Chadha to explore what value for money means in modern trusteeship. Nick reflects on his journey from actuarial adviser to professional trustee, and shares insight into schemes at very different ends of the spectrum, from those entering the PPF with recovery plans acting as a drag on sponsors, to schemes managing surplus and difficult decisions around how it should be shared between members and employers. We discuss the ins and outs of the innovative Aberdeen Stagecoach deal as part of a wider conversation about future options for DB schemes. We also chat about barriers for schemes moving to superfunds and conflicts of interest within professional trustee firms. Nick makes the case that true value for money isn’t about defaulting to industry orthodoxy... it’s about spending wisely, challenging assumptions, and ultimately improving outcomes for members.

In this episode of VFM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren are joined by Claire Altman, who leads Standard Life’s work across pensions risk transfer and individual retirement solutions. Claire shares her brilliantly unconventional journey into pensions, from lawyer to trustee to commercial innovator. We explore what it really means to deliver value for money in retirement, why emotional certainty often matters as much as mathematical optimisation, and how a growing web of regulation is shaping the future of both DB endgames and DC pension outcomes.

In this episode of VFM Pensions, Nico and Darren are joined by "Red" Rory Murphy,  trustee chair, board adviser, pensions commentator and lifelong trade unionist. Rory brings a refreshingly different perspective to the pensions debate, shaped by decades in the trade union movement and hands-on experience of running smaller schemes. In a typically wide-ranging conversation we touch on the role of trustees and why they are too cautious when it comes to delivering better outcomes for members. We look at the role of trusteeship in a world dominated by master trusts and professional trustees, the importance of the member voice, and whether fiduciary duty has been interpreted far too narrowly, acting as a barrier to innovation. At its heart, this episode asks a simple (but maybe) uncomfortable question: who is the pensions system really for and what would it take for trustees to be braver in acting for members?

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Nico and Darren chat to Kim Gubler. Kim wears many hats in the pensions industry, among them Managing Director of KGC Associates, President of PASA, and is an independent trustee Director of the Smart Pension mastertrust. Another wide ranging conversation that, as well as talking about horses and pigeons (only on the V-FM podcast....), focuses on the importance of elevating administration to the same level as investments when it comes to assessing value for money, treating it as central to member outcomes rather than something that happens in the background. We talk about the evolution of KGC, PASA, and problems in relying on SLAs to assess value for money. We also chat about Kim's work on small pots and the recent feasibility study looking at quick ways of addressing what is an increasingly pressing issue.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to SuperRatings' Kirby Rappell. SuperRatings has been conducting value for money assessments in Australia for 17 years, starting out as the first firm dedicated to super fund research. We hear from Kirby about how the Aussie's do V-FM and look at learnings and insights that could benefit UK thinking. And we discuss the Pound for Pound initiative that SuperRatings has been leading with a number of large UK schemes.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions Nico and Darren (slightly croaky and end-of-year tired) chat glow-in-the-dark dog walks, North London derby emotions and the Pensions Expert Annual Conference at Pennyhill Park… before diving head-first into the Budget and the chaos that surrounded it. We unpack Darren’s recent comment piece in Pensions Expert, the OBR leak that turned out to be more cock-up than conspiracy, and why pre-Budget “kite flying” left real people scrambling over tax-free cash decisions. From ISA tweaks to salary sacrifice caps and frozen tax thresholds, we ask what any of this says about trust, growth and whether the government actually has a story to tell. We also loop back to interviews with three of our World Pensions Summit guests (Tina Fordham, Amlan Roy and Sonja Laud) and link the Budget madness to the bigger themes of volatility, broken forecasting and the end of the “great moderation”.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to Maurits van Joolingen, Managing Director Climate Scenarios and Sustainability, at Ortec Finance. This is part of a series of episodes recorded at the World Pensions Summit in early November. A proper climate and scenario analysis geek out! We also discuss the news covering: the Budget, the state pension triple lock, the FCA pension scheme's investments in UK assets (or lack of), and Smart Pension landing the £580m WS stakeholder pension scheme.  

In this episode of V-FM Pensions, hosts Darren and Nico chat to Nordea's Head of Responsible Investment, Eric Pedersen. This is part of a series of interviews recorded at the World Pensions Summit. The central tenet of Eric's argument is true decarbonisation requires investing in and engaging with high-emitting sectors rather than divesting from them. Nordea have a created a Climate Transition Engagement Fund that targets companies demonstrating credible pathways to reduce emissions, supporting practical, real-world impact over superficial portfolio footprint cuts. Eric highlights how pragmatic engagement and long-term stewardship can deliver both climate progress and competitive returns. We also take the opportunity to catch up on the latest news, discussing the recent LSE/FTSE letter to the Chancellor begging for pension funds to invest in UK equites and also talk a bit about salary sacrifice and Budget 2025.

In this episode of V-FM Pensions recorded at the Pensions and Investments World Pensions Summit, hosts Darren and Nico chat to economist and demographic expert, Dr Amlan Roy. We talk to Amlan about why demographics is really about how people live, work and spend across their whole lives, and what that means for pensions and markets right now, not just in 30 years’ time. We cover micro pensions for gig and informal workers, why emerging markets are central to future growth, and how location can make a massive difference to retirement costs. Amlan explains why scenario-based planning beats traditional models, highlights six sectors with demographic tailwinds, and tackles the big value-for-money and fairness questions: how much return should we give up for sustainability, and is it time to rethink promises to older generations?

In this episode of V-FM Pensions recorded at the World Pension Summit, hosts Darren and Nico chat to L&G Asset Management CIO, Sonja Laud. Sonia reprises her opening keynote session giving insights into how the investment universe is evolving, picking up on the key theme of the Summit: Resilience in the age of uncertainty. Her key message... prepare, don't predict!