TISA Annual Retirement Conference 2025

Guy Opperman is the UKs longest serving Pensions and Financial Inclusion Minister 2017-22. He was formerly an amateur steeplechase jockey, a barrister, helped in the family engineering business and then was the Member of Parliament for Hexham in Northumberland from 2010-2024. Guy also held roles in the Home Office, Treasury, and Transport departments. He was responsible for the rollout of Defined Contribution Workplace Pensions to 8% and the reform of Defined Benefit. Since leaving politics in 2024 Guy is working as a consultant and adviser in the world of pensions, finance and in employee benefits. Guy served in the government of 4 Prime Ministers. Guy set up and chaired from scratch the Northumberland Community Bank, a fully regulated savings and loan bank in the North East in 2015. As a lawyer Guy was the UK 2007 Pro Bono lawyer of the Year winner, and named by the Times newspaper as one of their lawyers of the year. He rode his last winner as a jockey in 2019 at Sedgefield.

Tom heads our Funds and Financial Regulation team, and is a highly regarded and experienced figure in the UK investment management industry.

Fiona is Head of Policy at TPR, leading on changes to how TPR regulates areas such as value for money in DC schemes, funding for DB schemes and standards for trustees. She has more than 20 years' experience in developing private pension standards and leading regulatory change including almost three years as the Deputy Director for Defined benefit Scheme Policy at DWP. She is passionate about delivering pragmatic solutions which both protect members and work for those implementing them.

Nike Trost heads the Asset Management and Pensions policy department. As Head of Department Nike is responsible for delivering the FCA’s policy strategy in relation to the asset management sector and FCA regulated pensions. Nike has 15 years regulatory experience gained from working across the FCA, including in asset management supervision, oversight of primary capital markets transactions and heading the FCA’s prospectus approval function. Prior to holding this role Nike was the senior manager of the FCA’s Markets Policy department. In that capacity, she gained extensive policy making experience and oversaw several teams delivering a broad policy portfolio, including in relation to the UK’s primary markets and market abuse regimes, derivatives and securitisation regulations as well as wholesale market conduct, audit and accounting and sustainability/ESG policy.

Jim Boyd, Chief Executive Office, the Equity Release Council Jim was appointed CEO of the Equity Release Council in June 2018. He joined from Reform think tank, where he was Deputy Director and Head of Research. Prior to this he was an Expert Adviser at the Department for Work and Pensions, initially supporting Lord Freud, then Welfare Reform Minister. Jim has extensive experience of retirement and social care funding having led the Corporate Affairs functions at specialist life assurers Britannic Retirement Solutions, Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance. He is an adviser to the Intergenerational Longevity Commission-UK, a leading longevity, ageing and population change policy unit. Jim is a former tax and trusts lawyer.

Jessica has been with Benchmark for three years as Pension Technical Manager for the Fusion Wealth SIPP. She has 15 years’ experience in the pensions industry helping clients and advisers navigate the ever-changing tax rules and regulatory requirements.

Emma Douglas is Aviva’s Wealth Policy Director, having moved into this role in September 2024, and is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for savers. Emma joined Aviva in 2021 as Managing Director of the Workplace Savings business, responsible for c 24,000 schemes for 4.5 million people and their c £120bn of assets. Emma is also the Chair of the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association, holding this role from October 2021, having previously chaired the PLSA’s Policy Board since 2018. Before joining Aviva, Emma was Head of DC at Legal & General Investment Management, where she was primarily responsible for developing LGIM's DC business. She joined LGIM in 2014 from Mercer where she held the position of Partner and Head of Mercer Workplace Savings. Previous roles in Emma’s career include the Head of DC Sales at BlackRock and Head of DC Pensions at Threadneedle Investments. All told, Emma has more than 25 years of experience in the investment management industry. She graduated from Trinity College, Oxford with a MA in History, and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School via a Women in Management Scholarship from the Guardian.

Jack is a senior associate in the Pensions and Lifetime Savings team. He has a particular interest in pensions investment matters, including illiquid investments for DC schemes and ESG issues.

Robert Holford Altus Consulting, part of Accenture Insights Director Robert has over 15 years’ experience in Pensions and Investments, having worked in business and investment consulting, market intelligence and regulatory strategy. Robert started his career in investment consultancy, researching long-only equity and fixed income products for a range of institutional clients. He then moved into more industry-focused consultancy roles for life company and asset management clients in areas such as business & product strategy, market entry, institutional client servicing and market intelligence services. Prior to joining Altus as Life and Pensions Director, Robert was Head of Strategy & Insight for the Pensions Regulator, where he led the development and launch of the organisation’s first corporate strategy designed to ‘put the saver at the heart of pension regulation’. He has previously held the role of Sector Strategy Lead for the Pensions & Retirement Income and Retail Investments sectors at the Financial Conduct Authority.

Alice is a partner in our Pensions team and a member of the firm’s strategic board. Her experience includes leading teams on large projects including bulk transfers, benefit changes, corporate restructuring, liability management and buy-ins/outs

Steven is a partner in the Pensions and Lifetime Savings team. He advises public and privately owned employers and corporate and individual trustees on all aspects of pensions law.

Nathan is a research analyst working on pensions, savings, investments and wider public affairs. He is the architect of HL’s Savings & Resilience Barometer and leads the work on using behavioural science to improve client decision making. He’s been instrumental in developing analysis of engagement among workplace pension members. He joined Hargreaves Lansdown in 2003 and has worked in several areas of the business including as a financial adviser to individuals, and as a pension and benefits consultant to employers across the UK.

Paul Muir, Co-Managing Director of Dunstan Thomas, brings over 15 years of experience in financial services, spanning banking, insurance, and investment platforms. Having worked with leading providers and suppliers - including Quilter, Aviva, EXL, and National Australia Bank - Paul has built a strong reputation for driving innovation in financial technology. His passion lies in shaping technology to meet consumer needs, and he has been a vocal advocate for clearer, more realistic illustrations that provide meaningful insights. Paul has championed Dunstan Thomas' entry as an Integrated Service Provider (ISP) for Pensions Dashboards and regularly writes about the impact this transformative technology will have on consumers, as well as how providers can leverage it as a conversation starter.

Muirinn O'Neill is Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy at BlackRock, where she leads on retirement and retail investment policy in the UK and Ireland. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2021, Muirinn worked in consultancy, where she specialised in issues around retirement and financial wellbeing. This work included project managing the setup of a research centre aimed at improving financial wellbeing and preparedness across the UK.

Suzanne heads our Pensions Disputes team. She specialises in commercial and financial services litigation with particular focus on pensions disputes.

Andy is a director in the Pensions and Lifetime Savings team. He has substantial experience in all areas of pensions law, advising both pension scheme trustees and employers across a broad range of pensions issues.

Anish is Director of Global Pensions Policy and Propositions at Capita Pension Solutions. He’s known as an influential voice across pensions, for both his thought leadership and innovative approach to addressing today’s pensions issues. With nearly three decades of experience, he has held senior roles at leading firms including Mercer, PwC, Hymans Robertson, Barclays, and Smart. Anish has advised master trusts, trustees, and corporate clients on defined contribution and defined benefit schemes. A Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute, he also serves on the Advisory Council, shaping the future of pensions.

John is part of the Funds and Financial Regulation team. He specialises in financial services law and regulation.

Will is managing director of Nest Insight, the public benefit research and innovation centre focused on financial security for low- and moderate income households. He has spent 20 years working in strategy, public policy, research and communications roles relating to personal finance and pensions, including working for the UK Government on financial inclusion policy and the design and implementation of their landmark automatic enrolment programme. He joined Nest in 2008, setting Nest Insight up in 2016 while also holding a number of other roles including leading Nest’s strategy and public policy work. Will has published papers on pensions policy, workplace emergency saving and financial wellbeing in the AARP International Journal, the International Journal of Pensions Management and with the World Bank, among others, as well as authoring and contributing to a number of Nest Insight reports. He has spoken on these topics at conferences and events in the UK, Europe, Asia and North America.

Kate is Head of Public Affairs at Aegon, with over 35 years of experience in the pensions industry. She has been at Aegon since 2006. Kate is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute. Kate’s focus is on the ever-changing pension environment and the evolving shape of the workplace pensions market. Kate led the Trustees’ submission for the authorisation of the Aegon Master Trust with the Pensions Regulator. Kate’s mission is to seek to achieve good outcomes for savers, promote the value of saving and highlight the importance of regulated professional advice to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security Kate is a frequent commentator in the financial and consumer press. She’s also a corporate trustee of the Aegon UK Staff Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme Kate is a member of the cross-industry Pensions Equity Group and is co-chair of the policy sub-committee.   She’s twice winner of the Woman in Financial Advice awards (2018 and 2019) and was shortlisted for the Professional Pensions Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Pensions in 2022. In 2021 Kate was recognised as a role model for Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF) for her work in highlighting the gender pension gap.

Rachel is Head of Public Policy helping financial advisers and planners understand the changing pensions and savings environment, as well as how new legislation and regulation affects them and their clients. She’s well known within the pensions and savings industry, and regularly speaks at AJ Bell events, alongside writing content and articles for AJ Bell's website.

Steve Watson is Cushon's Director of Policy & Research. He has spent over 30 years of his career advising organisations on all aspects of pensions and workplace savings both in the UK and internationally.

Renny has been at TISA for over 8 years and is the Head of Retirement. He has been in the industry for nearly 35 years and has held various management and senior management positions at a range of financial services organisations. Qualifications wise he holds the CII accreditations of Certificate in Life and Pensions, Certificate in Financial Planning and Diploma in Financial Planning. He is a frequent commentator in the media and has significant involvement in the ongoing Government agenda of change through his TISA role and membership of several industry working groups and committees.

Sophie leads TISA’s work on the Advice/Guidance Boundary Review, Disclosures, Financial Education, Financial Crime and TISA’s Inclusive Investing initiative. Before joining us, Sophie worked in Wholesale Markets Policy at the FCA, gaining experience in Primary and Secondary legislation, as well as FCA consultations. She has worked on Brexit and the LIBOR transition and was seconded to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Prior to that, she worked in M&A for a FTSE 100.