Melanie is a Partner in the Public Sector Consulting team at Barnett Waddingham. She acts as Fund Actuary to a number of funds in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). She is a recognised expert in her field, being a regular speaker at industry events, representing Barnett Waddingham on a number of external committees related to the LGPS and writing articles and press comments.
She provides regulatory, valuation, employer and accounting related advice, delivering high quality work with a focus on excellent client service. She strives to provide exceptional support to her funds and to find pragmatic solutions. She is able to communicate technical issues in a way that is clear and understandable in order to help her clients make better informed decisions.
Melanie prides herself on maintaining her personable and enthusiastic approach to work and her ethos is to form lasting relationships with colleagues as well as clients – not only to create the best possible working environment but also to deliver the highest quality of work to clients and enhance client experience. This culminated in her promotion to a Partner in 2022.
Melanie qualified as an actuary and a risk actuary (CERA) in 2011. Before she specialised in advising LGPS funds, she worked across a range of private sector pension schemes and has several years experience of advising other schemes, including Universities. She is based in our Cheltenham office after spending a three year period in our Glasgow office. She works closely alongside other partners Graeme Muir and Barry McKay.
Significant experience:
- funding and other advice to Local Government Pension Funds
- academy conversions, calculating the attributable deficit and contribution rate
- advice on accounting disclosures for public sector employers including complex disclosures where employers are in surplus, or have ceased to trade or have pass-through arrangements in place
- public speaking and presenting, including presentations at industry events
- training officers, committees and local pension boards on funding issues and current issues relating to the LGPS
- providing benefits and governance support to LGPS funds, including governance reviews and advising on the continually evolving regulatory regime of the LGPS
Other expertise:
Melanie sits on a number of internal groups within Barnett Waddingham in order to share best practice and to continuously improve our services to clients. This includes membership on our Client Experience Group and Sustainability Steering Group. The Sustainability Group uses expertise from across Barnett Waddingham to provide solutions to clients to meet their regulatory requirements.
