Good Egg awarded September 2022
Renewed 2023
About PensionBee
PensionBee is an online platform that helps customers take control of their retirement by combining their existing pension pots into one new plan. Its Fossil Fuel Free Plan is one of the UK’s first mainstream private pension plans to completely exclude companies with proven or probable reserves in oil, gas or coal.
Summary of findings
The Good Egg criteria is divided into industry/ customer impact, environmental and social.
PensionBee was ranked by Ethical Screening and the Good Egg panellists as having a “medium positive impact” overall.
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Read the full report here
Industry/ Customer impact findings
- PensionBee’s commitment to making financial services fairer for all has resulted in a series of pension provider firsts, such as the integration of Open Banking, the launch of Simpler Annual Statements and the creation of its own scam awareness game.
- The company makes it easier for customers to contact them through pairing every new customer with a dedicated Customer Success Manager (or BeeKeeper) who looks after them and their pension.
- PensionBee is committed to helping consumers navigate the wider pension ecosystem, by campaigning for greater levels of transparency in pension transfers and fairer charging across all pensions.
- It advocates a full ban on all forms of exit fees which can undermine consumer confidence in the pensions industry. It is leading the campaign for an industry-wide 10-day pension switch guarantee and is campaigning for policy interventions to close the gender pensions gap. In 2021, PensionBee hosted a series of workshops with female savers to examine the barriers faced by women, which prevent them from saving into the pension system.
- PensionBee has a Board level Investment Committee that oversees all the company’s investment plans and meets 2-3 times a year. The company also has a set of independent external trustees, Pitmans, who lead its Governance Advisory Arrangement which provides an additional layer of oversight over the investment process and plans.
- PensionBee does not manage money directly. All money is managed by BlackRock, Legal & General, HSBC and State Street Global Advisors through index funds. Whilst the company does not have a direct vote on its assets, it regularly influences its managers to vote on important resolutions.
Concerns:
In June 2022, industry members raised concerns after an email from PensionBee to customers outlined it would provide the “option to waive checking for exit fees and valuable benefits” to speed up the consolidation process.
Environmental findings
- PensionBee’s Fossil Fuel Free Plan is one of the UK’s first mainstream private pensions to completely exclude companies with proven or probable reserves in oil, gas or coal, tobacco companies, manufacturers of controversial weapons, nuclear weapons and persistent violators of the UN Global Compact.
- In July 2021, the company invited feedback from its Fossil Fuel Free Plan customers on its exclusion criteria and as a result is looking for a new impact plan that goes even further in its exclusionary policy.
- PensionBee makes sustainability disclosures under SASB relating to its Assets Under Administration (AUA).
- The company has an ESG Policy which includes its approach to screens, voting and active ownership.
- It is also supporting sustainability campaigns across the industry including Richard Curtis’ Make My Money Matter campaign, of which PensionBee is a founding pledge partner.
Social findings
- The company is helping to make its products accessible to people on low incomes by not charging any fees to combine, contribute and withdraw pensions with PensionBee and there is no minimum transfer or contribution amount. Consumers are only charged one fair and transparent annual fee for managing their pension, ranging from 0.50 per cent to 0.95 per cent.
- PensionBee aims to help savers be better prepared for retirement, tackling the very real problem of pension poverty.
- The company conducts its own research into modern day problems, to help support consumers and provide useful guidance.
- PensionBee also wants to break down some of the obstacles to entering the workforce that young people face.
- PensionBee has certain social screening/ standards for some of its investments. For example, its Shariah Plan is designed to invest savings in accordance with Islamic principles on finance. Additionally, the company’s three biggest plans (Tailored Plan, Tracker Plan, and Fossil Fuel Free Plan), refuse to invest in UNGC violators and manufacturers of controversial weapons.
Internal policies
- As of May 2022, the company has 185 employees, 51 per cent of which are women. Women represent 67 per cent of board members.
- PensionBee displays its commitment to pay transparency in several ways, including signing up to the Association of British Insurers-led initiative aimed at increasing transparency around pay and parental leave.
- The company operates its own Human Rights Policy and is committed to complying with applicable labour and employment laws. PensionBee defines itself as an equal opportunity employer and is a signatory to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter.
- PensionBee reports that its energy supplier is BES and that 100 per cent of its energy supply is renewable.
- PensionBee supports the local community through charity partnerships such as ‘Better Bankside’, the ‘Careers and Enterprise Company’ and the ‘Brentford Community Sports Trust’. It is also building its own work experience programme and called for the removal of statues with links to slavery from the City of London. The company has also recently launched its first ‘Tech Apprentice’ scheme, which supports new comers to the tech industry, from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, to start their careers at PensionBee.
Quotes from panellists
– “Some good stuff there, but I couldn’t see a Net Zero commitment from them as a provider (although they have a specific fossil fuel free plan alongside their standard tracker plan etc, and mention general policy on exclusion, voting, stewardship etc), so I just wondered about that?”
-“I’ve read through the pack and am happy to recommend pension bee for a good egg. If anything I think their industry score could be a little higher. I know that in the pensions industry, some pension providers are even recommending usage of the
pension bee tools/digital estate to their own customers, even though they could be considered a competitor, because the consolidation engine and open banking capability are really good, and better than what most pension companies offer at the
moment. I also liked the fact that they offer two more sustainable funds, increasing access, although I must admit I haven’t dug deeply into those funds myself at present.”
-“I would score it a little differently: Industry/customer – High. Because of commitment to making financial services fairer; Social – Low. The social benefits are largely in how they operate (reflected in industry and employee policies) rather than the
investments themselves where social factors are not a major factor.”
-“This is a tricky one. They seem to be very considerate and really active on many levels and issues. They are very supportive of industry initiatives I’ve introduced them to etc and seem to be a great employer. But we can’t get away from the fact that only
– if the Good Mark Egg exists to label positive impact providers – two of their six options are ‘responsible’ as they describe them. I’d be inclined to label the funds with the Good Egg mark rather than the provider…”
More about PensionBee from Good With Money:
What you need to know about: PensionBee
PensionBee: Why we’re introducing a fossil fuel free pension
Top 7 ethical pension funds in 2022