Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Corporate trustee definition

What does Corporate trustee mean? A corporate trustee is a company (or other body corporate) appointed to hold and administer trust property in place of individual trustees, commonly used for pension schemes, security trusts in finance transactions, charitable trusts and private trusts. The expression is descriptive rather than a standalone legal term. Across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, a company may act as trustee and is subject to the ordinary fiduciary duties of trustees (loyalty, proper purpose, good faith) and a duty of care. Where the trustee acts in the course of a business, a higher professional standard of care typically...

Trusteeship of UK trust-based occupational pension schemes: individual v corporate structures, board composition, professional trustee standards, governance, appointments, liabilities and forthcoming DWP/TPR reforms (accreditation, directory, identity verification)

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

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FORTHCOMING CHANGE:

On 15 December 2025, the DWP opened a consultation to strengthen trusteeship, governance and administration standards for trust-based pension schemes (closing 6 March 2026). Proposals include centrally set, mandatory accreditation for professional trustees, a statutory definition of “professional trustee”, initiatives to enhance trustee board diversity, a non-public trustee directory overseen by the Pensions Regulator (TPR), and potential TPR regulatory oversight of pension scheme administrators. This consultation forms part of a wider reform package designed to raise governance as the pensions landscape consolidates into fewer, larger schemes, and also examines measures such as improving board diversity, introducing a statutory trustee directory and intensifying regulatory oversight. Taken together, these moves signal a transition from encouraging accreditation towards a possible compulsory framework for professional trustees. For further information, see Professional trustees, below.

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUST-BASED OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES

Individual trustees v corporate trustee

The most common trustee structures used for trust-based occupational pension schemes are:

individual trustees...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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