The UK could suffer a dramatic shortage of pension fund trustees if the government legislates to force them to take competency tests, warns Peter Murray, former chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds. Murray is also retired chief executive of the £13.5bn (€20.1bn) Railway Pension Trustee Company, one of the UK's largest schemes. He gave up day-to-day running of the scheme this year but remains a trustee. He has also become an adviser to UK pension fund trustees for Epic Investment Consulting and an associate with Best Trustees.

Murray believes the way trustees operate must change. Although details of the UK pensions bill have not been finalised, it is almost certain that trustees will be obliged to know more about funding and investment issues. Murray said the structure of this requirement could be crucial to the health of the pensions industry.