The Trustee

Connor is a Time Management Analyst and has worked for Cummins for five years. He became a Trustee director because he wants to make a meaningful impact throughout his career, and this is his way of contributing to something bigger and creating positive change. 

Connor recommends taking the time to understand your personal finances, even if it’s just a couple of hours once a year. It’s helped him understand what’s valuable to him, feel less guilty about spending money, set achievable goals and secure his financial future. 

As far as pension saving is concerned, Connor believes the most important thing is to start contributing as much as you can, as early as you can. Maximising the Company contribution and the power of compound interest mean that the earlier you start saving, the more your money can grow over time. 

As a child, Connor wanted to be a palaeontologist. In his spare time, he enjoys going on dog-friendly adventures with his fiancée and their English pointer, Brooke, as well as cycling with his brother, watching football and F1, or gaming with friends.

Ian was Divisional Finance Director for Cummins at Holset between 1995 and 2000. For the last 12 years of his career, he was a Finance Director of an AIM listed business. During his time at Cummins, he was a Company-appointed Trustee director of the Plan, having served as a trustee of several pension schemes over the years. Shortly after drawing his pension, Ian became a member-nominated director, and with a mix of DB and DC pensions, he learned a great deal going through the retirement process. He says, ‘Starting pension saving early and allowing the fund to accumulate over as long a period as possible is so important. I would encourage members, when their financial circumstances allow, to take full advantage of the additional contribution the Company makes and never forget that investing in pensions is very tax efficient for both PAYE and NI purposes.’ 

As a child, Ian didn’t have a dream job. A ‘late developer’ academically, he threw his efforts into education to give him more options for his future. His main hobbies are golf, playing piano and watching his two grandsons’ football and rugby teams.

James is EBU Demand Planning Manager and has worked for Cummins for 12 years. He became a Trustee director because he wanted to highlight the importance of saving for retirement, particularly with younger members. He says, ‘Firstly there is the tax efficiency that saving into a pension gives. Secondly, there is the power of compound interest – the earlier you save, the more it’s worth when you come to retire.’ 

Like many children, James’ dream was to become a footballer. As he grew up and realised that wouldn’t happen, he also wanted to be a pilot. He’s still dreaming! Outside work, James loves watching sport, mainly football, F1, horse racing and cricket. He’d love to participate in them too but says that injuries and age have caught up with him quicker than he’d have hoped.

Lisa is Program Director for CBS (Cummins Business Services) and has worked for Cummins for 29 years. Before becoming a Trustee director, she didn’t know a great deal about pensions, but when the opportunity arose, she read a lot on the topic and found it interesting. There’s so much variety in what the Trustee board does that it appeals to her, along with the fact that the ultimate aim is to help our members get the best outcomes. 

Lisa’s top tip is that regardless of how near or far retirement may be, getting into a routine of what she calls ‘pension admin’ now and again is a good thing to do – whether it’s checking your nomination details, target retirement age, fund value or thinking if you could save a little bit more – every little helps! 

As a child, Lisa wanted to be a librarian because she thought she’d be able to read books all day! Away from work, she likes being outdoors and enjoys going for hikes in the countryside and keeping fit by going to the gym. She likes a good book and loves spending time with her family and friends.

Martin is CNC Production Engineer at Cummins Turbo Technologies and has worked for Cummins for 23 years. He became a Trustee director having attended the pension link meetings and learning more about pensions. Over the years, he built up his knowledge through training courses and online materials before becoming an MND. He says, ‘Spend a small amount of time learning the basics of how your pension scheme operates, this will allow you to make informed decisions about how you can affect your fund size and also to understand that small pension contribution increases in the early years can have a massive effect on your retirement date and standard of living come the end of your career.’ 

As a child, Martin wanted to be an F1 racing driver, a professional footballer and a fighter jet pilot, to name a few – he loved to dream! In his spare time, he’s fortunate to have a fantastic and understanding wife and two lovely children who are football crazy. This means he’s a football coach for both of them and their teams. So most evenings and weekends, you’ll find Martin on a pitch somewhere in Yorkshire enjoying developing both the boys’ and girls’ teams, making memories and having plenty of fun on the way.

Natalie is Regional Payroll Manager, Europe and has worked for Cummins for 16 years. Working in HR and payroll has always brought her close to pensions, which she finds interesting. She brings her knowledge and experience of the controlled payroll environment to the Trustee board. Natalie recognises that the jargon that can come with pensions can make them confusing and daunting for many people. She says, ‘The earlier you contribute, the better placed you are to retire and enjoy your retirement without the additional worry of finances.’ 

As a child, Natalie wanted to be a meteorologist – payroll is worlds away from analysing the weather! In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, travelling and enjoying the local cuisine wherever she happens to be. Natalie also likes going to the gym and walking, which allows her to indulge her passion for food!

Nichola retired from Cummins at the end of 2018, after completing 25 years of service. When she retired, she was Director of Retirement Benefits for UK, EMEA and Asia Pacific, as well as being Secretary to the Trustee. Having worked in the pension industry throughout her career, Nichola’s work retirement coincided with the retirement of the Chair of the Trustee, and so she took over as Chair. It was a win-win situation, allowing Cummins and the Trustee to retain her pensions knowledge and experience, while giving Nichola the opportunity to remain involved with the Plan, which she’s passionate about. 

She says, ‘The most important thing for pension savers is to recognise the importance of saving for retirement and, ideally, starting as early as possible – but not panicking if you’ve left saving a bit late as you’ll probably still have some time and opportunity to increase your retirement income. It’s important to enjoy the fruits of your labour and live a little while you’re young – just remember to keep putting something aside for later life too, so that you won’t have to work until you drop simply because you can’t afford to retire. Like most things in life, it’s about balance!’ 

As a small child, Nichola wanted to be a bus conductor so that she could get to issue the tickets and press the bell! (Only readers old enough to remember old-style buses with a conductor will know what this is – think Olive from On the Buses.) In her spare time, Nichola likes yoga and Pilates, spending time with family and friends, travelling, and pottering in the garden and on her allotment.

Paul is Director of UK Tax Operations and has worked for Cummins for 11 years. He became a Trustee director because he has a keen interest in personal finance and investing and wanted to understand more about where his pension investments were going. He was also concerned about people not saving enough for retirement and relying solely on the State pension. Like many of the Trustee directors, Paul’s top pensions tip is starting to save as early as possible and not missing out on Company-matched contributions. He says, ‘The effect of compounding, especially including Company contributions, can have an enormous impact on the value of a pension at retirement.’ 

As a child, Paul wanted to be an airline pilot – he’s not sure he could have ended up with a more different career! With two young children, he doesn’t have a lot of spare time but does enjoy watching both of them in their sporting endeavours. Paul also has a season ticket for his local football team and enjoys the occasional craft beer or two!

Stephen is Principal Mechatronics Engineer and has worked at Cummins for 35 years (over two periods of service). He became a Trustee director to improve members’ pension experience and outcomes. For Stephen, the most important thing for Plan members is to understand their pension and what it can do for them – part of enabling members to have a plan that supports them in achieving their life goals. 

Even as a child, Stephen wanted to be an engineer, and his dream was to become an engineer with a patent, like his father. In his spare time, Stephen likes writing code, ‘hacking’ computers and electronics.

Steve is a certified public accountant (CPA) and the director of corporate accounting. Based in the USA, he has worked for Cummins for 20 years. He became a Trustee director because of his interest in personal financial planning and saving for retirement. He says, ‘Start saving for retirement early in your career and don’t overlook the powerful impact of compound interest.’ 

As a child, Steve dreamed of playing professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs. When he came to the realisation that wasn’t on the cards for him, he pursued an accounting degree. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports, and traveling. He is looking forward to attending his first F1 race.

Stuart is Program Director, DBS. He has worked for Cummins for over 36 years. He became a Trustee director because he’s interested in financial planning, and being an MND is an opportunity to develop that interest into something tangible for himself and other members of the Plan. For Stuart, the key thing is helping members to understand the importance of pension planning from an early age. He says, ‘Care and attention on a few basic decisions could have a big impact on your benefits when you’re ready to take them.’ 

As a child, Stuart wanted to be a fighter pilot but got put off by the recruiting officer at the RAF careers office. His work at Cummins has allowed him to travel the world so he’s still been able to fly – but as a passenger rather than a pilot! In his spare time, Stuart plays ‘lads & dads’ football, enjoys music and collects guitars. He’s also been restoring an old Land Rover Defender 90 with his son.