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How the Fund is run

The Fund is set up under a Trust and is governed by a legal document called the ‘Trust Deed and Rules’. The Fund’s assets (including members’ DC Start and DC Core accounts) are held in a different place to Nestlé’s assets and can only be used to benefit members and their beneficiaries. All the benefits described on this website are provided directly from the Fund unless we have said otherwise. The Fund is a registered pension scheme under the Finance Act 2004, which means that you get some tax advantages, such as tax relief on what you pay into the Fund.

More details about the Fund are set out in the Trust Deed and Rules, the legal document governing the Fund. This document, along with other Fund documents such as the full Trustee Report and Accounts, Valuation Report, Schedule of Contributions and Statement of Funding Principles can be requested from Nestlé Pensions.

The Trust Deed and Rules will always overrule this website or any scheme booklets that we may have issued in the past in the event of any inconsistencies.

Your trustee board

The Fund is managed by a Trustee Company, Nestlé UK Pension Trust Ltd. The trustee company has an overall duty to run the Fund in line with its trust deed and rules and current trust and pensions law. It acts through its board of directors, who are generally called ‘Trustees’. Please note: this does not mean each director has the same legal duties individually as the trustee company – it is simply a useful shorthand term.

There are currently eight Directors on the Board of the Trustee Company – four appointed by Nestlé UK and four nominated by the active and pensioner members (known as member-nominated Trustee Directors).

The Board has set up three Trustee Committees to manage various matters delegated to them by the Trustee Board. The Committees are:

The Governance & Compliance Committee (GCC)

The GCC has oversight of:

  • the Fund’s audits,
  • production of the Trustee Company Report and Accounts,
  • the management accounts,
  • the Fund’s risk register, and
  • The Fund’s business plan.

In addition, the Committee has a governance oversight role in respect of the administration of the Fund which includes reviewing the performance of the Fund’s administrators (Nestlé Pensions), monitors the contributions paid to the Fund and reviewing any complaints received from members.

The Defined Benefit Investment Committee (DBIC)

The DBIC will look after any investment strategies and implementation (how the strategy is put into action) within our DB sections.

The Defined Benefit Funding Committee (DBFC)

The DBFC will focus on funding and covenant matters (Nestlé’s legal obligation and financial ability to support our DB scheme both now, and in the future).

The Defined Contribution Committee (DCC)

The DCC looks at governance matters for the defined contribution (DC) sections of the Fund, as well as monitoring the suitability and performance of the DC investment options.

Among other things, the Committee:

  • Monitors the performance of the Fund’s DC investments
  • Proposes changes to the investment options for consideration by the Board
  • Monitoring the administration of the DC sections, and
  • Monitors the DC sections platform provider.

We normally hold quarterly Board meetings to conduct the business of the Fund, as well as quarterly meetings of each of the Committees.

Member-Nominated Trustee Directors

Marcus Barry
Employee Member
Marcus is a Nestlé pensioner who retired from the business in May 2020 after nearly 30 years’ service. He has now embarked on a second career, still working within the food and drink industry and combines this with taking an active role as a Trustee Director of the Pension Fund. Marcus joined the Trustee Board as a member nominated trustee director in 2015 and was re-selected in 2021.
Belinda Eddington
Employee Member
Belinda Eddington is a Finance project manager for Nestlé, responsible for process improvement implementation. She is based in Gatwick and has worked in various line management and project roles across Finance for the last 17 years. Prior to Nestlé, Belinda worked for Marks & Spencer Plc, including 2 years in the Renumeration Committee Office, and 4 years in International Internal Audit.
Richard Rowden
Employee Member
Richard is a Third Party Contract Manager for Nestlé UK. He started work with Nestlé Purina Petcare in 2004 as a temporary member of staff for the GLOBE go-live, and has since worked in a variety of supply chain roles across nearly all of the categories in Nestlé. Richard became a Nestlé Member Pension Representative about 4 years ago.
David Baxter
Pensioner Member
David worked for Nestlé for over 30 years and was a Pension Members Representative at Gatwick and Croydon for over five years. A certified engineer, he was the Nestlé representative to European Coffee Associations (including Committee Chairman), and Global Head of Green Coffee Quality.

Nestlé UK-appointed Trustee Directors

Malcolm Burridge
Employee Member
Malcolm is the Finance Manager for Nestlé Professional UK & Ireland based in Gatwick. He has worked for Nestlé in a variety of Finance roles for over 15 years, including Group Finance, Supply Chain Finance and the LGO (‘Local Globe Organisation’). He joined the Trustee Board as a Nestlé-appointed Trustee Director in February 2016 and is excited to work on the big challenges workplace pensions face in the UK. Malcolm is Chairman of the Governance & Compliance Committee.
John Chilman
Independent Trustee
John is an experienced pensions and reward professional who joined the Trustee Board in 2016. He is currently the Chief Executive of Railpen, which is the executive arm of the £35bn Railways Pension Scheme. John has experience as a Trustee in the UK and North America, is a Council member of the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) and a Pension Policy Board member for the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). John is Chairman of the Defined Contribution Committee.
Steve Delo
Independent Trustee
Steve is Chief Executive of PAN Governance LLP and former President of the Pensions Management Institute. The PAN Group provides trusteeship and governance services to all types of approved pension schemes. Prior to joining PAN, he held senior roles in pension consulting and asset management. Steve joined the Trustee Board in May 2015 and was appointed Chairman in February 2016. He is also chairman of the Valuation Committee.
Irene Donaldson
Employee Member
Irene is a Learning & Development Specialist based in Gatwick. She has worked for Nestlé UK Ltd for 31 years, in various roles in Marketing, Sales and Human Resources. Irene joined the Trustee Board as a Nestlé-appointed Trustee Director in February 2016, bringing her experience of issue analysis, decision making and communications, all key to the complex role of the Trustee in today’s economic climate.

Fund administration

Nestlé Pensions manages the day to day running of the Fund on behalf of the Trustees.

You can find the contact details for Nestlé Pensions on the Contact us page.

Fund documents

Pensions law states that the Trustees must produce a number of documents each year. These include:

  • The Fund’s annual statement regarding governance of the DC sections of the Fund (the 'DC Chair’s Statement'),
  • The Fund’s Statements of Investment Principles (SIPs),
  • Investment Implementation Document (IID) for the DC section,
  • The SIP Implementation Statements, and
  • The Fund’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report.

You can read about these documents and download them in the section below.

The Fund’s annual statement regarding governance of the DC sections of the Fund (the 'DC Chair’s Statement')

The statement describes how the Trustee has met the statutory governance standards in relation to:

  • The default investment arrangements in the DC Start and DC Core sections,
  • Requirements for processing DC financial transactions,
  • Assessment of charges and transaction costs that apply to the investment funds in the DC sections, and
  • The requirement for trustee knowledge and understanding for the Fund year in question.

The DC Chair’s Statement includes the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP), and the Investment Implementation Document (IID). These documents all relate to the Fund year of the DC Chair’s Statement. The SIP and IID may be updated at different times. You can download the latest versions of these documents in the section below.

DC Chair's statement for the Fund year ending 31 December 2022

The Fund’s Statements of Investment Principles (SIPs)

These documents set out the principles governing the investment decisions for the Fund. There are two SIPs for the Fund – one for the defined benefit (DB) section, and one for the defined contribution (DC) section.

In addition, the Trustees have produced an Investment Implementation Document (IID) for the DC section. This sets out the detail of the specific investments held in the DC section, and the various policies and procedures that have been put in place by the Trustees in relation to DC investments.

DC section Statement of Investment Principles - dated April 2023.

DC Investment Implementation Document (IID) - dated April 2023.

DB section Statement of Investment Principles - dated April 2023.

The SIP Implementation Statements

Each year, as part of the Fund’s report and accounts, the Trustees need to show how the investment policies set out in each of the SIPs have been implemented during the previous year to 31 December. These are known as the `Implementation Statements’.

There are two Implementation Statements – one relating to the DB SIP, the second relating to the DC SIP. Each Statement must:

  • Describe any review of the SIP during the period covered by the Statement including an explanation of any changes to the SIP,
  • Set out how, and the extent to which, in the opinion of the Trustees, the SIP has been followed during the year, and
  • Describe the voting behaviour by, or on behalf of, the Trustees during the year as well as stating any use of the services of a proxy voter during that year.

DB section SIP Implementation statement for the Fund year ending 31 December 2022.

DC section SIP Implementation statement for the Fund year ending 31 December 2022.

The Fund’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report

Regulations came into force in October 2021, which require pension schemes with assets valued at £5 billion or above to report on how they are managing climate-related risks and opportunities. The regulations followed the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Each year, the Trustees need to produce a report for the previous year to 31 December. The report sets out the Trustees’ approach for the assessment, ongoing management and mitigation of climate-related risks and opportunities.

The report provides an update on how the Fund is currently aligning with each of the four elements set out in the regulations, which link to the recommendations set out by the TCFD. These elements are:

  • Governance: Of climate-related risks and opportunities.
  • Strategy: The actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on the Fund’s investments and funding strategy.
  • Risk Management: The processes used to manage climate-related risks.
  • Metrics and Targets: The metrics and targets used to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities.

The Fund’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report for the year ending 31 December 2022

Other documents

The Trustees also produce other documents that relate to how the Fund is run:

  • An annual report and accounts for the Fund
  • Funding reports, and
  • The Trust Deed and Rules of the Nestlé UK Pension Fund.

Contact Nestlé Pensions if you would like copies of these documents.

General information

Changing or closing the Fund

Nestlé has the power to close the Fund at any time by giving the Trustee one month’s written notice of its intention to stop making contributions to the Fund. Nestlé may also make changes to the Fund, but it has to have the consent of the Trustee and must consult with members.

Ownership of benefits

Your Fund benefits are strictly personal. They can’t be transferred to any other person. And they can’t be used as security for a loan. If you try to do this, you might lose some or all of your benefits.

Keeping you informed

Each year, we send Fund members a newsletter, Pensions News, giving updates from the Trustees of the Fund, as well as information about the Fund membership and funding.

Active members of the Fund receive a pension statement every year showing their individual Fund benefits – built up in the defined benefit and/or defined contribution sections.

Deferred members receive a statement showing how much they have built up in their defined contribution (DC) account, and what this could provide at retirement.

In this section
Your trustee board Fund administration Fund documents General information