About us

Railpen’s purpose is simple – to secure our members’ future.

We began in 1965 as the pensions office for the British Rail Pension Scheme and we’ve been driving better retirement outcomes for rail workers ever since.

We are built on heritage.

Our history of helping everyday, hardworking people in the rail industry save adequately for their retirement stretches back more than half a century. From our origins in Darlington – home to the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives – we’ve innovated and evolved to serve the needs of the industry and the financial future of its workers – from their first day on the job, throughout their working lives and into retirement. 

Today, we are responsible for over £34bn in assets on behalf of over 350,000 members, providing market-leading pension administration and investment services for defined benefit (DB), defined contribution (DC) and hybrid schemes, including the iconic Railways Pension Scheme (RPS), one of the largest, most established, and intricate funds in the UK.

Since we laid our foundations in our Stooperdale offices in Darlington, we’ve branched out to London, continually evolving and adapting to rail industry needs – never standing still in our pursuit to achieve our purpose.

We are committed to better member outcomes.

Our member-first culture is at our core. By listening to our members and understanding the issues that matter most to them, we’re able to bring them closer to their pensions and shape how we protect and grow their money. 

Our role is delegated to us by our Trustee, a diverse group of 16 directors from the rail industry who represent employers, unions, and members. They operate within a rigorous governance framework, providing strategic oversight, and have an unwavering passion to put members’ interests at the heart of everything we do.

This passion is reflected in Railpen’s Board of Directors, who bring extensive knowledge and expertise from across complex and regulated sectors, including rail, to provide a wide-ranging perspective and drive to ensure we secure our members’ future.

Guided by integrity, the importance we place on collaboration, and our commitment to positive member outcomes, we work alongside policymakers and industry leaders to advocate for fairness, transparency, and accountability. We drive positive change for our own members, as well as for pension scheme members across the UK – by championing better practices, influencing policy, and shaping a more sustainable pensions landscape.

We are agile and innovative.

We use our experience and expertise, combined with our dedication to deliver on our pension promises to members, to invest in their financial futures. 

But not only that. We also invest in the world we live in and will retire into. An 18-year-old joining the rail industry today won't retire for many years to come, and will do so in an ever-changing world. This gives us a long-term mindset and means we’re able to access investment opportunities over multiple decades – like with the energy transition, which sees us investing in new and exciting technologies that can help to protect and enhance the long-term value of our members’ savings. We believe that incorporating and acting upon environmental, social and governance factors is a significant driver of investment returns and fundamental to our duties.

For decades, Railpen has invested in the UK, including in infrastructure, energy, innovative sectors and community developments. We work hand-in-hand with our partners and those who rely on us to deliver great places including new hospitals, windfarms and spaces for businesses and local communities to thrive. We enrich communities and the environment, set new standards for innovation, contribute to a resilient UK economy and seek to have a lasting impact on the world around us.

We are different from the norm.

As a mutual organisation, we put every pound of profit towards paying members’ pensions securely, affordably and sustainably. We make this our mission. 

We’re in the privileged position of supporting hundreds of thousands of members throughout their lives and into retirement as they save for their future. We understand the difference we can make to their lives – and to the lives of their employers. So, we go beyond basic administration to provide a high-quality service that’s delivered by people who genuinely care about what we do and why we do it.

Our investments are selected, structured and sized for long-term impact. We focus on high-quality assets that our talented teams understand deeply. We observe how these assets behave in different conditions and develop bespoke strategies to enhance investment resilience so we can deliver the returns our members need. This approach means that for every £1 paid out in pension benefits, around 75p comes from investment growth*.

From protecting and enhancing the long-term value of members’ savings to having a positive impact on the world they retire into – our purpose to secure our members’ future runs deep. It shapes who we are, ensuring our committed people understand and believe in the meaningful work we collectively do. We will continue to deliver on our purpose to secure our members’ future for many years to come.

We are Railpen.

*Based on the investment performance of total pension contributions