EQ Extends UKAEA Pensions Contract

• UKAEA agreement another in an extensive run of key renewals for EQ Paymaster
• The Combined Pension Scheme of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (“UKAEA”) have agreed a two-year pension administration contract extension with EQ Paymaster
• EQ Paymaster, which has been working with the UKAEA since 2018, will continue to focus on the best possible member experience and simplifying the pensions process for the Authority’s participating employers

EQ Paymaster, one of the UK’s largest pensions administrators and part of the international technology-led services and payments specialist EQ (Equiniti Group plc), is pleased to announce that it has been re-appointed Third Party Administrator for the Combined Pension Scheme of UKAEA for a further two years.

The Combined Pension Scheme, dating back to 1954, caters for over 41,000 current and former employees working in the UK nuclear energy industry.

The scheme’s administration services have been based in Caithness, Scotland for almost 60 years, and it is now administered from EQ Paymaster’s office in Thurso.

Today the Scheme uses EQ Paymaster’s award-winning pension administration platform, Compendia Touch. The combination of Compendia Touch and the team’s experience (a number of whom have worked on the account for many years) means EQ Paymaster is able to offer scheme members the best possible experience and simplify the process for the UKAEA’s participating employers. 

The agreement comes during a strong run of outsourced administration and software renewals for EQ Paymaster. This includes several key relationships with workplace pension schemes for large private sector employers, such as HP and Hays Recruitment. Furthermore, EQ Paymaster has attracted new contracts with life insurance clients that are choosing EQ’s market-leading platforms to administer pension payments to their policyholders.  

Duncan Watson, CEO of EQ Paymaster, commented: “We’re delighted that our Thurso team will be continuing our relationship with the UKAEA for a further two years. The team has been performing well since it joined EQ in 2018 and has cemented its place as the leading experts on pensions for the UK nuclear industry.

“We’re proud of how well our EQ Paymaster teams have responded to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pensions is an industry that operates with long-term timeframes and we have been able to deliver business as usual for our clients despite the short-term uncertainty surrounding the country at the moment.”

Andrew Bickley, Head of Pensions at UKAEA said: “We are pleased to extend the current contract for a further two years. Over the last few years we have seen the scheme administration modernised so that members and employers can benefit from both the new online systems, and also continue to access the extensive knowledge of the team based in Thurso and the wider EQ team.”
 

ENDS

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About EQ (Equiniti Group plc)

EQ is an international technology-led services and payments specialist. With over 5,000 employees, it supports 36 million people in 120 countries and serves c.70% of the FTSE 100. EQ’s purpose is to care for every customer and simplify every transaction, delivered with less of an impact on the environment.

EQ is listed on the London Stock Exchange as Equiniti Group plc.

Find out more https://equiniti.com/

EQ serves clients and customers through four divisions:

EQ Boardroom: Share registration, governance and investor relations advisory, and employee benefits services

EQ Digital: Helping regulated businesses and Government to manage customers through innovative digital solutions

EQ Paymaster: Pensions, annuities, flexible benefits and payroll for the UK’s largest public and private sector organisations

EQ U.S.: Transfer agency, equity compensation services and digital solutions for U.S. firms; serving the world's leading brands since 1929

About UKAEA

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) carries out fusion energy research on behalf of the UK Government at Culham Science Centre near Abingdon. It is also developing Culham as a location of hi-tech research and business, with around 40 tenant companies now on site and UKAEA’s new RACE robotics centre and Materials Research Facility now in operation.

UKAEA’s fusion lab Culham Centre for Fusion Energy oversees Britain’s fusion programme, headed by the MAST Upgrade (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) experiment. It also hosts the world’s largest fusion research facility, JET (Joint European Torus), which is operated for European scientists under a contract with the European Commission.

More information: www.gov.uk/ukaea. Twitter: @UKAEAofficial