Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to inform the Pension Board of the performance for Fund Administration for the period up to 31^st December 2020 and actions undertaken following the Coronavirus outbreak and UK lockdown on 23^rd March 2020.

The Pensions Manager introduced this report to the Board. He explained that the report seeks to inform them of the performance for Fund Administration for the period up to 31st December 2020 and actions undertaken following the Coronavirus outbreak and UK lockdown on 23rd March 2020.

He said that the prioritisation of critical administration processes as advised by the TPR, focussing on the continued payment of pensioner and dependent members and the processing of retirements and death cases remains the focus for the team.

He stated that KPI performance is monitored and reported to the Pensions Manager for review on a biweekly basis. He added that some processes were slightly slower where limited access to the office remains in place.

Helen Ball asked if members were frustrated by any of the delays.

The Member Services Manager replied that some niggles have been raised on timings, but there had not been an increase in complaints, and she felt that most members were understanding of the situation faced by the team.

The Pensions Manager informed the Board that with regard to Employer Performance they were only currently reporting on retirement cases and planned to expand the report in time for the next meeting.

The Employer Services Manager commented that Bristol City Council had changed their payroll provider which has caused a delay in submitting monthly data via IConnect. She added that some errors had been identified and worked through to get them corrected which has led to them to being 2-3 months behind. She said that they were up to date in terms of all other monthly data providers.

The Head of Business Finance & Pensions asked if within a future report a trend analysis of cases over the past five years can be included to provide performance evidence to the Board.

The Pensions Manager replied that this should be possible and that he would look to provide this in the next report to the Board.

He explained that there were a small number of late payments in the reporting period, none of which were of material significance and therefore recorded internally but not reported to TPR. He added that the Fund has taken mitigating action in each case to ensure employers are aware of their responsibilities going forward.

He added that on a monthly basis they engage with the top 34 employers, which accounts for around 80% of the Fund membership to ensure there are no issues.

He stated that the administration recruitment project is still ongoing and currently in Phase 2 of 3. He said that the induction and training of newly appointed members of staff via the new training officer program is in place and working well and that around 8-9 vacancies remain.

He added that a project lead has now been appointed for the McCloud Data Collection project, this was an internal appointment and backfilling is currently underway.

The Chair asked how the morale of the team is in general.

The Pensions Manager replied that an in-house survey had recently been completed and that he felt that most staff were now used to be working at home. He added that in the future a balance would need to be found to support staff working arrangements. He said that he believed the stress levels for team managers had increased.

The Head of Business Finance & Pensions agreed that future planning was required and said that the work of the managers over the past year can’t be underestimated.

The Chair asked if the appropriate equipment and technical support has been provided to staff.

The Pensions Manager replied that hardware and support has been made available to staff and continues to do so.

The Chair asked what could be done to improve staff resourcing.

The Pensions Manager replied that to recruit and retain has been a problem in the past and that they can look at how posts are advertised, whether the post on offer is attractive enough and revise the job description.

The Employer Services Manager said that the salary offered can sometimes be an issue and that adverts are normally only placed on the B&NES website, but they have recently applied to advertise some posts externally.

The Member Services Manager added that applications for the posts are received, but there is a set criteria on experience and financial background required.

Steve Harman asked if there was any opportunity for apprenticeships to take on these roles as a career path.

The Head of Business Finance & Pensions replied that they have taken on apprenticeships before with mixed success and proposed whether a high-level trainee position might be a better option, along the lines of a graduate apprenticeship.

Helen Ball commented that she had previously managed a graduate trainee system across different areas of a local Council where many went on to have successful careers.

The Head of Business Finance & Pensions said that the local universities have been approached on these roles. He added that London is still seen as a popular destination, although questioned whether that would now change in the future.

The Board RESOLVED to note the report, including Fund and Employer performance for the three months to 31st December 2020.