Housing
The Pensions Board is there to help those who face a housing challenge at retirement, particularly if they have lived in housing provided with their church role during their ministry.
We aim to provide professional, quality services to our customers, understanding their needs and the priorities of those within the Church who provide us with the money to do this.
We manage a portfolio of 2,100 homes across England and Wales, helping clergy secure the right home for retirement. The portfolio consists of rental, shared ownership and supported housing options, alongside a legacy mortgage scheme. ‘Rental’ form the largest share, with just under 1,200 homes available through the CHARM scheme.
Our supported housing schemes provide individuals with their own flat within one of seven vibrant retirement communities offering both independence and support if needed.
We offer more than just ‘bricks and mortar’, supporting customers from the earliest stages of retirement planning (up to 5 years in advance), through to identifying the right property and moving in. Furthermore, we can help all our customers access any additional entitled financial support and, if needs change during retirement, provide advice, information and access to other services.
The CHARM scheme is underpinned by commercial finance. In 2019 we renegotiated and extended a £50m revolving credit facility which will give on-going flexibility for property purchases.
In 2019, we started key projects to improve our service over the long-term, including signing a contract for a new Housing Management System. This new system will reduce paperwork, improve data quality and free up our team to spend more time with customers. Implementing this will be a key focus for 2020 onwards.