Responsibility for calculating pension transfer values will move from actuaries to pension trustees from 1 October. From this date, trustees rather than actuaries will have to calculate and certify what the pension benefits of an employee who decides to leave a defined benefit scheme are worth, should the benefit be transferred into a personal pension or another occupational pension scheme. Currently, actuaries have guidelines to assist them in the process, but as yet, none have been drawn up for trustees. David Everett, head of pensions research at actuarial firm Lane, Clark & Peacock, said: "Transfer values ought not to change purely by moving from actuary certifying to trustee certifying, however, they are likely to change in many schemes because of improvements in longevity, lower interest rates and higher inflation. Trustees and actuaries need to have detailed discussions [about these issues, so] the handover might involve quite a bit of work."