Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to present the Fund’s administration performance for the three months to 30^th June 2024 vs key performance indicators (KPI’s).

The Governance and Risk Advisor introduced the report to the Board. She provided the following information that had not available at the time of writing the report.

McCloud

She stated that officers had been concerned over the past week regarding the Government’s lack of reference to McCloud and the need to show any differences in respect of that on the Annual Benefit Statement. She explained that on 31^st August the Government announced a change to the regulations that said there would be no need show this currently.

She informed the Board that fixes to the software regarding McCloud were now being tested.

She then highlighted the following issues from within the report.

Pension Increase

Supplementary Pensions Increase (PI) is planned for October pay run subject to final testing.

The Chair commented that there was no deadline to have this solution in place and that Funds were dependant on their software providers.

Procurement

The fund has started preparatory work of the procurement process for the main software system and an Integrated Service Provider for the Pensions Dashboard – which will be done as one contract using the LGPS framework.

The Head of Pensions stated that this was a big strategic project and that the chosen provider would need to work across the Fund’s existing eco-system.

The Chair said that it was vital for the service that all parts of the system join up and that it was important to get things right and be thorough within the deadlines.

The Head of Pensions said that the Board would be updated appropriately and could expect further information at their December 2024 and March 2025 meetings.

The Governance and Risk Advisor said that the year-end exercise had gone well. She said that two employers could potentially receive fines due to late submissions.

The Employer Services Manager commented that they were looking to provide further support / training to employers where possible.

The Governance and Risk Advisor highlighted the following areas from the Restructure Update.

·  New structure in place with effect from 1st August

·  All ring-fenced officers got their first choice of roles

·  Recruitment into new structure & new roles – Q3-Q4 – 15 vacant posts remain

·  Movement of work and responsibilities – Q3

The Payroll Manager highlighted the following areas from the Workflow Update.

Q1 and beyond…

·  Permanent team leaders appointed

·  Training – new and existing officers

·  Continued focus on backlogs

·  Temporary “retirement team”

SLA monthly performance average July 23 – 18th August 24

·  Many more areas turning green

·  Team is focussed and working hard to reduce service backlogs

KPI cases completed as % July & August 24

·  Overall picture is improving

The Chair suggested that a cumulative ‘Green’ column could be added to this slide for future reports.

The Payroll Manager said that there was a good atmosphere amongst the team and that they were aware and could see that progress was being made. She added that they were ahead of their projection for their Service Performance Plan.

The Employer Services Manager added that she has seen such a positive work ethic since joining in March and that there was good collaboration across the team.

The Chair said that it was important to stay ahead in the Service Performance Plan with the Pensions Dashboard due for implementation in 2025.

Steve Harman said that it was pleasing to see the improvements that had been made between June and August and wished for his congratulations to be given to all members of the team.

The Head of Pensions thanked him and said that he would convey his message to the team.

Pensions Increase Update

The Member Services Manager highlighted the following areas from the presentation.

Phase 2

·  39 cases have been manually calculated, with arrears / interest paid in July and August 2024.

·  95 cases are going through the bulk remediation process and will have the arrears / interest paid in September 2024.

·  68 cases have been reviewed and no further remediation is due.

·  Total = 202 completed

Phase 2 – What’s in progress

·  11 suspended child pensions have had arrears calculated. Dependants have been written to for current bank details.

·  39 death cases have been reviewed and arrears are being calculated.

·  10 cases are currently in checking

·  Total = 60 in progress

The Chair asked if the child pension cases were being approached with empathy and understanding.

The Member Services Manager replied that staff were aware of the circumstances regarding these cases and that the letters that were being sent were appropriate.

Phase 2 – What’s left

·  142 pensions suspended from outset (Member tracing) – these members are being traced and this population will be removed from the project as they are not a pension increase issue. These will be owned and dealt with as part of the normal tracing process.

·  94 GMP cases. These are complex cases and will require manual calculation and resolution.

·  11 Payroll cases – Once payroll queries are resolved, increases will need to be calculated.

·  Total = 247 – 142 = 105 to action

The Chair asked to what extent has the process / success of this project been shared across the teams.

The Member Services Manager replied that a couple of training sessions have been carried to show what has / can be achieved.

The Employer Services Manager added that the restructure has enabled better communication lines.

Pensions Dashboard

The Data Control Team Leader highlighted the following areas from the presentation.

What is the Pensions Dashboard?

·  The Government’s aim is that online Pensions Dashboards will match users with all their pensions yet to be brought into payment, in one place and in a secure way.

·  Their personal details will be verified within a complex “ecosystem” and details of their schemes and pension benefits will be fed back and available to view on a dashboard.

·  The data will be presented in a simple and understandable way.

Steve Harman commented that he felt that the new Avon Pension Fund website was good and asked what the difference would be between that and Pensions Dashboard.

The Data Control Team Leader replied that the Avon Pension Fund website only shows the details in respect of that fund and that the Dashboard would show the different pensions attributable to one person in one place.

DWP Connection Deadline dates

·  All Public Service Pension Schemes must be connected by 31^st October 2025.

·  Implementation planned between June – October 2025

The Pension Regulator (TPR) Guidance

·  TPR will be responsible for ensuring we comply with the duties of the dashboard.

·  We must be able to evidence:

o  Having regard for our “connect by” date

o  Appropriate Governance, processes and systems in place

o  Key decisions and progress recorded

TPR Guidance – what must we be doing now?

·  Decide how to connect –

o  Review options

o  Current provider / Integrated Service Provider / Build your own

·  Data Accuracy

o  Review your data to ensure:

o  We can match members with their pension

o  Return accurate data values

TPR Compliance & Enforcement approach

·  Principle based

·  Data led

·  Will have a range of powers

·  Will be pragmatic but robust where they see intentional non-compliance

Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) Guidance

·  Key pillars which need to be addressed to achieve connection readiness.

o  Governance

o  Matching

o  Pensions Values

o  Technology

o  Administration

APF – Governance readiness

·  Appointed a Project Manager

·  Project plan for delivery and connection

·  Education of Management team

·  Next steps:

o  Ongoing monitoring of progress & compliance

o  Ongoing communication with officers, employers, Board & Committee

o  Delivery ISP and connect October 2025

The Chair said that the Dashboard was an important function to have in place, but that it was important to get it right, rather than rush, as the integration needs to be correct.

The Data Control Team Leader replied that they will work as carefully as possible and said that they have been reviewing providers since May and hoped to conclude that process within the coming weeks.

Steve Harman suggested that it might be worthwhile for the Board to have a separate workshop regarding the Pensions Dashboard at some point.

The Board RESOLVED to note the service performance for the period ending 30th June 2024 and the presentations that were delivered to them.