Julia Ridger

Areas of expertise

Employee benefits including; auto-enrolment; salary exchange; governance and employee engagement. Consultancy support and professional trustee services; trust-based pension schemes including Defined Benefit (DB) and Employer Funded Retirement Benefit schemes (EFRB’s). Corporate Trustee services to Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) and Share Incentive Plan’s (SIP’S). 

Experience

Julia advises employers on auto-enrolment, salary exchange, governance and employee benefits. Salary Exchange and the delivery of communications and financial education to employees is a key focus for her. She also advises employers and trustees on DB pension schemes, identifying cost reductions and implementing de-risking exercises including pension scheme wind ups and broking buy-in’s and buyouts. 

Julia’s team also provides professional trustee services to Defined Benefit pension schemes and also Corporate Trustee and administration services to a number of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) for large multinational corporations and bespoke services for Share Incentive Plan’s (SIP’s).

Notable achievements

• Researching the provider market including shortlist and beauty parade to recommend a provider to a professional trustee to establish a Master Trust for pension scheme members who had been defrauded of their pension savings
• Reviewing clients’ existing arrangements and designing/recommending new auto-enrolment structures and providers and implementing salary exchange
• Acting as professional trustee, supporting the incumbent lay trustees through a number of complex changes for a DB pension scheme and working in a collaborative manner with the employer
• Guiding a professional practice through a de-risking exercise for a DB pension scheme leading to wind up
• Supporting multinational corporations, including a number in the Japanese sector, as trustee and administrator of the companies’ EBTs

Professional qualifications/memberships

DipPFS-qualified and a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).