info@alignpensions.com

Our Team

Pensions Advisory and Trustee Services

We are our people and our team are here to deliver you an outstanding professional service.

Sam Ashraf – Director

Sam is an experienced professional independent trustee and corporate actuary. Known for her strategic solution-based approach for managing challenging situations facing pension schemes and sponsors to arrive at sensible and improved outcomes for all parties.

Sam is delighted in founding Align Pensions with Darren Howarth and Bhavna Kumar. Align Pensions will bring quality trusteeship and advice to all types of pension schemes.

Sam has substantial experience in professional trusteeship including chairing trustee boards and acting as sole trustee.

Her experience includes negotiating balanced funding solutions, sponsors undertaking restructuring including insolvency (including compromise solutions), journey planning along with building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders. She also has substantial experience of regulatory actions including moral hazard cases and other investigatory powers. Her recent activity includes buyouts including schemes with property charges.

As a corporate focused actuary, Sam has advised companies on pension accounting, liability management projects, funding negotiations and M&A pensions activity including mergers of pension schemes.

Sam’s experience covers both DB and DC pension schemes including open and closed schemes covering schemes assets all the way to £1BN. Client base has included schemes with UK, Belgium, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese and US parent companies. Sam have also undertaken several governance projects for DB and DC schemes.

Darren Howarth – Director

Darren is a highly regarded pensions actuary and professional trustee with 24 years experience in the pensions industry.

Since graduating from UMIST in 1995 with an honours degree in Mathematics and Management Sciences, he has worked for 20-20 Trustees as a professional Trustee and at a small number of consultancies as a Scheme Actuary. During his time at Buck Consultants, he was the Head of the Manchester office and a Trustee of the Buck Consultants Pension Scheme as well as a Scheme Actuary.

Darren qualified as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in 2002 and has held a Scheme Actuary certificate since 2003. 

Darren has a particular expertise in (advising / acting as a Trustee for) small to mid-sized schemes and finding pragmatic solutions to issues in a cost-effective manner. Darren also has extensive experience of providing investment consulting advice to clients and advising trust based DC schemes, including schemes in the process of winding up.

During his career, Darren has advised a number of well known companies including East Midlands International Airport, Euler Hermes and Turtle Wax.

Recently, Darren advised the legal team representing the representative members in the Lloyds Banking Group GMP equalisation case.

Darren is well respected by his clients, who appreciate his enthusiastic and friendly manner, and his ability to present and explain complex issues in a clear and understandable way.

Bhavna Kumar – Director

Bhavna is a highly experienced qualified pensions actuary and trustee, who is focused on

  • collaborative but robust communication and negotiation;
  • strong governance;
  • simplifying the complex for all audiences and;
  • driving cost efficiencies and adding value.

Bhavna has extensive experience of all aspects of trust based defined benefit and defined contribution pension arrangements, and has helped a number of her clients reach viable and mutually acceptable funding and investment strategies.  Bhavna’s focus has been on small to mid-range schemes where it is of crucial importance that solutions are cost effective and pragmatic.

Her career began as an actuarial trainee in 1999, and has encompassed roles at Aon, Mercer and 20-20 Trustees.  Bhavna splits her time between an advisory role and independent trusteeship, allowing her to understand the issues from both sides of the discussion and ensuring that her clients receive a best in class service.

David Martland – Professional Trustee

Prior to joining Align Pensions in March 2022, David spent much of his career operating as a senior HR professional, initially in the public sector with police and local authorities. He proceeded to lead HR teams across Western Europe for a large multi-national service organisation.

During this twenty year period, David was responsible for overseeing employee benefits for c9,000 people, which included acting as Chair of trustees for large and complex UK defined benefit schemes, as well as leading governance committees responsible for effective provision of defined contribution benefits. His experience operating in an acquisitive/TUPE environment saw David gain expertise assessing pension risks/liabilities, as well as ensuring appropriate future pension provision for incoming employees.

David is currently appointed as lead trustee to a number of DB schemes and provides second tier support to his colleagues on a number of additional appointments. David has been instrumental in successfully taking a number of schemes on journey plans; encompassing member option exercises, fiduciary management, data preparation and eventual buy-in, buy-out and scheme wind up exercises. Ensuring regulatory compliance in a commercial environment has been a theme throughout David’s career. As such, he seeks to find pragmatic and robust solutions to complex issues, adopting an open and inclusive approach with fellow trustees, scheme sponsors and advisers alike.

Away from the office, David is normally to be found outdoors dog walking, running or gardening. He is also a keen amateur chef and loves to entertain friends and family whenever possible.

Alison Goold – Professional Trustee

Alison, a Chartered Accountant by original qualification, joined Align after a career in investment management latterly as a portfolio manager investing in fixed income and alternative assets with an interest in sustainable investment and ESG.  She has experience in devising and implementing investment strategies and has sat on a number of Investment Committees.

Alison is currently an independent trustee on a number of Schemes.  Her experience includes working with several DB schemes in preparation for buy-out and wind-up as well as implementing and maintaining effective governance structures applying a rigorous yet proportionate approach to risk management.

Her technical expertise in statutory accounting and investment analysis enables Alison to understand the company behind the pension scheme and cut through complexity to identify risks and deliver pragmatic solutions.   She works closely with sponsors and advisers providing a proportionate approach to pension scheme governance ensuring that members interests are protected through effective funding and investment strategies.

Away from the office, Alison is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of a UK national healthcare charity, PSPA.  She also enjoys travel, food and dog walking (in an attempt to reduce the impact of the latter!).