LONDON - British pension experts are going to share their wisdom on running an advance-funded pension system with the Chinese later this month in Beijing.
During a visit to Hong Kong last year, trustees of the 11 billion Post Office pension plans were invited to Shanghai. There, a Chinese official asked the trustees to provide advice on how to create and operate pension plans.
In response, Philip Sellers, a trustee of the two Post Office schemes and a former finance director of the Post Office, organized a program that includes actuaries, lawyers, accountants and money managers. The Chinese have promised to deliver the top 30 retirement officials in the country.
It's not at all clear what will come out of the symposium, but the potential in creating a system for the 1.2 billion-person nation is staggering. "It's potentially the greatest gravy train in history," commented Michael Duncombe, chief executive of the Post Office schemes.
