Head of Tesco pension scheme to become NAPF Chairman

Ruston Smith has been appointed Chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), the UK’s leading voice of workplace pensions.

The incoming Chairman will succeed Mark Hyde Harrison, whose two-year tenure ends at the NAPF Annual General Meeting on Friday 18 October 2013. Ruston will assume his responsibilities after the AGM for a two-year term.

Ruston is Group Pensions and Insurable Risk Director at Tesco PLC, which has one of the largest private sector pension schemes in the UK. He has held a non-executive role at the NAPF since 2007 and is currently Chairman of its Retirement Policy Council.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Smith said: 

“The NAPF is at the heart of the national debate on the future of retirement saving, and I am delighted to be taking on the role of Chairman.

“As we live and work longer than ever before, our society is redefining what retirement means, and we are shifting away from a traditional and inflexible model where people work one day and retire the next.

“I am truly passionate about encouraging and helping people to save for their future. The pensions industry has an important and exciting role to play, and it can make a real difference to individual lives and the wider economy.

“Over the next few years, auto-enrolment will bring millions of people into pensions, and the NAPF will be working hard to ensure the reforms are a success. Good governance and sensible regulation, which protect savers and focus on maximising retirement income, are vital to build confidence in pension saving.

“I would like to thank Mark for his hard work and tenacity during a very busy time for pensions in the UK. I wish him every success in his future work.”

Mark Hyde Harrison, current Chairman of the NAPF, said: 

“I congratulate Ruston on his appointment. He brings a wealth of knowledge and his experience will be of considerable value. I am confident he will add to the ongoing success of the NAPF and that he will ensure the views of our members continue to be heard in Whitehall, Westminster and Brussels.”

 

About Ruston Smith

Ruston joined Tesco as Group Pensions Director in December 2002. In this role he is accountable for the running of the group's many schemes, including the in-house administration of benefits for over 300,000 members in the UK Pension Scheme and the investment of the £7bn of UK assets managed by Tesco Pension Investment, an internal FSA-approved company.

He is also accountable for the strategic development of the Pensions Policy of Tesco on a global basis. In May 2007, Ruston also became Director of Group Insurable Risk and is responsible for managing and financing the group's insurable risks.

Before joining Tesco, Ruston was a Director and Company Secretary at PZ Cussons, where he was also responsible for their group pensions. He has an MBA from Manchester. He is an Associate of the Pensions Management Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Management, and a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.

 

Notes to editors:

1. The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,300 pension schemes with some 16 million members and assets of around £900 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.

2. Photos of Ruston Smith are available on request.

Contacts:

Paul Platt, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1717 or 07917 506 683, [email protected]

Aimee Savage Richards, Press Officer (interim), 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]