PMI president Girish Menezes' opening address to the PMI's Endgame Solutions conference 2026

Good morning, everyone.

There has never been more discussion about how pension schemes should end. Buyout. Run-on. Consolidation. Surplus. Optionality.

But I want to begin with a different question: before we choose the destination, have we invested enough in the people who must get us there and beyond?

That question matters because the pensions industry is not becoming simpler. Every route now demands more:

better data

sharper governance

deeper market knowledge

stronger judgement

and the confidence to act when the answer is not obvious.

It is therefore a real pleasure, as President of the Pensions Management Institute, to welcome you to this year’s Endgame Conference.

Thank you to our organisers, speakers, sponsors and to all of you for bringing your experience - and, I hope, your willingness to challenge received wisdom - to today’s debate.

For some schemes, the destination is buyout. For others, it is run-on. Some will consolidate. Many will preserve options for as long as they can. There is no universal answer - and nor should there be. Schemes have different histories, sponsors, funding positions, member populations and ambitions.

Yet every successful journey has one thing in common:

People making consequential decisions.

People interpreting regulation, assessing risk, scrutinising data, challenging assumptions and balancing the interests of members, trustees and sponsors.

My concern is that, in our rush to debate destinations, we risk underinvesting in the people expected to complete the journey - and to deliver high-quality service to every member along the way.

Buyout requires transaction expertise, insurer-market knowledge and confidence in the quality of scheme data.

Run-on brings questions about investment strategy, governance and surplus.

Both demand rigorous review of scheme rules, historic practice and member records.

Regulation continues to raise expectations, while technology and AI are reshaping how information is produced and decisions are supported.

As complexity increases and technology advances, professional judgement becomes more - not less - valuable.

Technology can improve speed, consistency and insight.

It cannot remove accountability, empathy or the need to know when the apparent answer is the wrong one.

That is why the PMI matters.

For more than fifty years, our purpose has been to support professional excellence across pensions: through qualifications, continuing development, research, thought leadership and the standards we champion.

Our industry rests on trust.

Members trust us with their futures.

Trustees trust advisers and administrators to guide them through complexity.

Employers trust schemes to honour promises made over decades.

That trust is earned through knowledge, experience, ethics and the courage to exercise sound judgement.

Today, I am delighted that we are launching the PMI’s latest Endgame research with Schroders. It highlights how better-funded DB schemes are navigating increasingly complex endgame choices. The findings suggest that 45% target buy-in or buy-out within ten years, but also, that a third plan to run on indefinitely.

The findings point to a DB market moving from deficit recovery towards strategic choice, with trustees and sponsors deciding whether to secure benefits through insurance, run on, use surplus strategically or retain flexibility. 

Its message is clear: schemes are not converging on a single destination. They are choosing different routes and keeping different options open.

That is not indecision.

It is a reflection of a diverse market in which good strategy must be scheme specific.

The important test is not whether a scheme chooses buyout or run-on.

It is whether the choice is informed, evidence-led, well governed and understood by those accountable for it.

There may be different destinations.

But there is one constant: professional excellence.

Qualifications alone do not create expertise. But disciplined professional development builds confidence, competence and consistency. It gives people a common foundation - and the capacity to keep learning when markets, regulation and technology move on.

As President, I am determined that the PMI will not stand still. We will keep our qualifications relevant, strengthen learning around emerging challenges, examine what AI means for future professional standards and create more opportunities for members to contribute to our profession.

The PMI is more than an awarding body. It is a professional community. Its strength comes from members who share knowledge, volunteer, mentor others and help set the standards by which our industry is judged.

So, as you listen today, do not ask only: Where is our scheme going?

Ask: Are we building the capability to get there well?

Invest in someone’s development. Make time for learning. Encourage a colleague to gain a qualification. Mentor the next generation. Volunteer with the PMI.

Professional excellence is a shared responsibility, and every one of us can strengthen it.

The destination may be buyout, run-on or something in between.

But the real endgame is not a transaction. It is the fulfilment of a promise to members.

Routes will change. Technology will change. Regulation will change. Our responsibility will not.

The PMI will continue to champion the knowledge, standards and professional community needed to deliver on that promise.

I ask each of you to do the same.

Thank you. Enjoy the conference - and let us make today’s debate count.