Mencap Trust Company Limited

The Mencap Trust Company Limited (MTC) was formed in 1975 by Royal Mencap Society (RMS) and is a wholly owned subsidiary of RMS.MTC was set up to provide a trustee who would always be there for loved ones. In particular, to help parents, families and friends to set up a trust where there was no one to undertake this role or it was difficult for siblings, or others, to take on the burden of being a trustee and the liability such as investment responsibilities that this entails.MTC is a professional trust company with its own independent board of directors. Board independence ensures that decisions are taken in the interests of beneficiaries and without regard to whether or not RMS may be named as a residuary beneficiary.MTC acts as sole trustee of trust funds held for people with a learning disability, autism and other vulnerabilities. MTC is operated as a not-for-profit organisation; it generated a surplus before tax of £133,195 in 2022-2023 (2021-2022 surplus of £53,726). This surplus was primarily due to cautious financial management during a challenging year for the economy and the need to build MTC’s reserves to invest in systems and processes that will improve the efficiency of our services for beneficiaries. Against a backdrop of high inflation and market uncertainty, MTC took the decision to make a slight increase in our management fee. The impact of this, together with our close management of costs see us end the year with sufficient reserves to sustainably invest in our systems, processes and activities to benefit people with a learning disability or autism and their loved ones.MTC differentiates itself from standard trust companies, or trust service providers, in that it:- builds and maintains relationships with all beneficiaries whilst their trust fund is active (a key means is via personal visits to discuss planned use of funds);- provides a person-centred investment approach by using alternative portfolio models that take account of both the scale of individual funds and personal circumstances (which may vary over time); and- can draw on its knowledge base, which comes from several decades of providing a trust service to people with a vulnerability, as well as the expertise of our MTC volunteer board members and RMS staff and resources.While providing its trust service, MTC will:- ensure that the assets within each trust are used to enhance the quality of life of the primary beneficiary of that trust;- operate with integrity and be financially sound; and- administer the trust and investments efficiently and prudently.MTC provides its service through either a standard discretionary trust deed, a discretionary disabled person’s trust deed, or a life interest trust deed made between the settlor of the funds and MTC. Each deed has its own named primary beneficiary and directions as to the devolution of any residual funds left on the death of the primary beneficiary i.e. the person with a vulnerability.Each trust deed is usually accompanied by a letter of wishes from the settlor. The settlor can update the letter at any time and at no extra charge.MTC does not provide a personal care service. However, it works closely with the people who support the person with a learning disability or autism. MTC informs those involved in the care of the primary beneficiary that there is a trust fund available and asks them to contact MTC if they think money from trust funds could improve the life of the person they provide support for. MTC also undertakes review visits so that the trust can be discussed directly with the beneficiary, key supporters and family, where appropriate. The frequency of the review visits depends on personal circumstances such as the value of the trust fund and other considerations. Beneficiaries are visited in their own homes. Review visits are informal but structured. A review report is produced for each visit and is used by MTC to support its decisions as trustee. Visits are also scheduled when there is a significant change in a beneficiary's life.