Hymans Robertson, the leading pensions and risk consultancy has promoted Shabna Islam to lead its master trust research and manage the firm’s relationships with DC product providers.

With almost 15 years’ experience in the pensions industry, Shabna joined Hymans Robertson in 2006 and is a qualified actuary. Shabna has an in-depth understanding of both the DC and DB markets, specialising in provider selection exercises, implementing new pension arrangements, pension scheme design and member communications.

Commenting on her new appointment, Shabna said:

“We’ve seen the rapid rise in prominence of master trust pension schemes in the last few years, and its stepped up a gear even more in the last 12 months. I’m thrilled to be leading our specialist team in this rapidly growing area and look forward to working with, and advising, our clients about making the transition into these new vehicles.

“TPR and DWP have made it clear that they are recommending a move to master trust for many DC schemes and for any schemes still unsure, it really couldn’t be a better time to make the move. We’ve seen the ongoing shift towards master trusts lead to highly competitive prices from providers and this is something that is likely to continue as more schemes move over the coming year. We genuinely believe that for schemes to take advantage of this pricing they should act now. It provides an opportunity for them to streamline their governance requirements, reduce their pension costs, and support their members through an enhanced pension arrangement.”