YIP boss appointed

Wednesday 06 December 2023

Helen Dean - CEO of Nest - has been appointed to chair the governance committee overseeing Your Island Pension from January.

Nest is one of the largest pension schemes in the UK and takes care of pensions for a third of the UK’s working population.

With YIP, facilitated by the States of Guernsey and governed independently by Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Limited, intended to be operating on a similar model it was decided to offer Ms Dean the role of Chair.

Sean Gillease, Managing Director of Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Limited said: “We are delighted to announce that Helen Dean CBE has accepted the role of Chair for the Your Island Pension Governance Committee. Her significant experience from the design and introduction of auto-enrolment in the United Kingdom and her time since with NEST Corporation, most recently as CEO, will be invaluable to us as we embark on the same journey they set out on more than a decade ago.

"It is not an overstatement to say that Helen is the perfect person to take this role and we are excited to have her involved and looking forward to working with her in the coming years.”

YIP will be open to all employers in Guernsey and Alderney on a voluntary basis from January 2024. 

From July 2024, larger employers (those with 26+ employees) will be required to enrol eligible employees into an approved secondary pension.

It is estimated that approximately 65% of the employed working age population are not making any personal pension provision so YIP intends to ensure everyone is able to count on a good pension, and will also reduce the demand on tax-funded income support for those over retirement age in future years.

Ms Dean said she is looking forward to working with those involved to make sure this happens.

“I am delighted to be taking up the role of Chair of the Governance Committee for Your Island Pension. Setting up an auto enrolment scheme is an important step for Guernsey and Alderney and building on my experience of this in the UK, I look forward to working with Sovereign and the Governance Committee to ensure Your Island Pension has strong and effective governance and the best possible pension scheme for the people of Guernsey and Alderney.”