Rachel Croft

Trustee Director | Head of Co-Trusteeship

Contact Information

Email me  •  LinkedIn

With over 20 years’ experience, Rachel represents the firm as lead trustee to help oversee the pension schemes of well-known brands with assets between £50m and £2.5bn+, with four schemes having assets of £1bn+ and one being a DB master trust. Her style is to establish strategic objectives and identify risks and mitigations with key stakeholders and to help drive forward change and working collaboratively with the sponsor.

Rachel works collaboratively as part of a team, helping to mentor trustees where needed – in particular where there are gaps in trustee knowledge and where specialist expertise is required such as end-game journey planning and investment strategy. She prioritises inclusivity for all stakeholders enabling “every voice around the table to be heard”.

Rachel is an enthusiastic and active contributor to pensions industry thought leadership and a regular speaker on webinar panels. She is also a member of the APPT Council, where she particularly focuses on external affairs and furthering the role of professional trustees, having regular interaction with TPR and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Rachel is a fully accredited trustee with the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT), a qualified Solicitor and Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI).

  • Adviser review
  • Covenant review
  • Expertise in Investment Strategy
  • Mentoring lay trustees
  • Pensions Regulator involvement
  • Repairing/rebuilding trustee relationships
  • Risk transfer (buy in / buy out)
  • Scheme Closures
  • Valuation Exercises
  • Working to agree long term objectives

Achieved successful agreement of actuarial valuation, long-term funding target and review of contingent security, in the context of a Covid-impacted covenant and Pensions Regulator involvement.

Provided direction and guidance in all areas of activity including investment strategy review, recent corporate activity, funding negotiations, long-term funding target, current buy-in exercise, buy-out planning including data work, and GMP equalisation.

As Chair of the McColl’s DB pension schemes, Rachel led the trustee board through the well-publicised acquisition of McColl’s by Morrisons and subsequent post insolvency scheme rescue (one of the first of its kind)

BACK TO TEAM