Agenda item

To update the Pension Board on various pensions administration matters as part of its remit to oversee the administration of the Brent Pension Fund. 

Sawan Shah (Brent Council - Senior Finance Analyst) introduced the report updating the Pension Board on various pensions administration matters as part of its remit to oversee the administration of the Brent Pension Fund.

In considering the report, the Board noted:

• The Pension Administration performance update for the period April – June 2021, as detailed within section 3 and Appendix 1 of the report.
• The update provided on Helpdesk call performance.  Whilst performance had improved through the quarter the average wait times were above target in April and May, largely due to a significant increase in retirement and bereavement cases resulting in higher call volumes.  Performance had improved in June with the Fund working with LPP to review the performance issues experienced in more detail.
• The number of complaints remained low, with a total of six new cases received during the quarter.
• The Pension Regulator scores achieved in regards to the accuracy of common and conditional data held within scheme records.  As at June 21 common data had a total accuracy rate of 95.1% (compared to 95.4% in March 21) whilst conditional data had a rate of 82.5% (compared with 81.7% in March 21) which represented an ongoing improvement.
• In relation to the Annual Benefits Statement, it was noted that this had been issued to all active and deferred members by 31^st August 2021.  Whilst there had been a small number of records where it had not been possible to resolve queries from year end returns on time resulting in it not being possible to produce an Annual Benefit Statement these cases were being actively monitored by LPP and once resolved An ABS would be issued.  The Board recognised the work undertaken by LPP with employers to ensure the necessary year end returns had been submitted along with the project to clear historical unprocessed leavers.  Based on the actions being taken no material breach had been identified in relation to the ABS requirements.
• The update provided on the data cleanse project (as detailed within section 5 of the report) relating to outstanding leaver queries.  Under Phase 2 of the project out of the 1,385 cases included within the scope 1,033 had been completed with 352 outstanding.  This Phase of the project was scheduled to be completed by the end of November 21.
• The updated provided on the Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMP) reconciliation project, as detailed in section 6 of the report.  Members noted the project had been established to review the final data output from HMRC in relation to the GMP reconciliation process and ensure that appropriate corrective action was taken in relation to active, deferred and pensioner records.  The total number of cases within the scope of the project was 1,448 with 1,082 having now been completed.

John Crowhurst (Operations Director, LPP) then provided the Board with a presentation outlining key business and performance updates within the LPP Quarterly & Annual Brent Pension Fund Administration Report.  Key issues highlighted were as follows:

Referring firstly to the Quarterly Administration report, members were advised this covered the period April – June 21, with additional updates provided from Quarter 2 which had not been published with the agenda pack.  The Board noted the detailed performance updates provided in relation to Fund Membership and high level of engagement in the Leavers and Data Cleanse projects.  In addition a detailed breakdown was provided in relation to casework performance against the Service Level Agreement and overall performance standards along with the ongoing levels of casework at the end of the reporting quarter and in relation to processing of retirement cases.

Moving on to help desk performance, it was noted that the normal help desk provision had been out of service for part of Quarter 1 due to the prioritisation of calls and cases relating to bereavements calls which had resulted in a longer wait time for other queries.  The service had subsequently restructured the way calls were dealt with and referred and it was confirmed that the performance had subsequently improved during Quarter 2.  The Board noted the ongoing strong performance in relation to customer satisfaction scores relating to both the helpdesk and retirements along with progress in relation to registration for the My Pension Online service which had continued to increase throughout Quarters 1 and 2.  Having already noted the updated provided in relation to  the accuracy of data held by the Fund John Crowhurst ended his initial update by highlighting the service improvements which had been delivered which included improvements to a number of web forms and information available on the My Online Pension Portal, introduction of a number of self-service videos, improvements to the triage process for retirement forms and signing up to the Pension Regulator scams pledge.  In terms of scheduled improvements these included development of an enhanced member survey and a review of the welcome programme.

Members were then invited to ask questions on the update provided, which are summarised below:

·                Further details were sought on the reduction in accuracy of common data identified during the current performance monitoring period.  In response members were advised this mainly related to addresses that had not been provided for deferred members with further tracing activity work having been commissioned in an attempt to gather the required data from deferred members.

·                Clarification was sought on the reported increase in refunds relating to outstanding cases on which members were advised an update would be provided following further investigation after the meeting.

·                In terms of issues being caused in relation to the provision of Annual Benefit Statements as a result of the timeliness of returns being provided by scheme employers further details were sought on what more could be done to address the issue.  In response the Board was advised of the important work already being undertaken to engage with scheme employers on this issue involving a three way process between Council Officers, the LPP and scheme employers.  Whilst a number of employers had missed the deadline extensive engagement had been undertaken to ensure that all returns were eventually provided with the Board noting the particular challenges faced in some areas as an impact of the pandemic.  This activity would continue moving forward with increased importance given the upcoming Fund valuation.  Whilst it had not been possible, during the pandemic to offer the usual level of engagement and training activity for scheme employers a programme of more targeted engagement had now been developed focussed around sectors with LPP also providing an engagement officer dedicated to supporting scheme employers within the Fund, and the learning from the last few years having demonstrated that targeted engagement campaigns were crucial in establishing compliance. Members were asked to note that Brent Officers had been invited to be part of a pilot scheme to increase support to employers from the Fund, with a view to having a quicker processing of Annual Benefit Statements in the next calendar year.

·                Following on from the previous issue, members were advised that scheme managers did have power to take action against scheme employers who did not comply with their statutory and legal obligations in relation to the Fund.  Whilst this power had been included within Brent’s Pension Administration Strategy it had not been used (and would only be as a last resort) with a preference for engagement and training to ensure the necessary returns were provided.  Members advised that they were supportive of the approach outlined in terms of more targeted support and engagement and were also reassured that no material breaches had needed to be reported to the Pension Regulator having noted the basis of the considerations set out in section 4.7 of the report

·                Confirmation was provided regarding engagement with the Brent School Improvements Team in addressing issues with the provision of returns from schools as scheme employers with the main issue identified in relation to their payroll providers, many of which had been outsourced by schools and academies.

·                In relation to the data cleanse project, details were sought on the nature of the outstanding cases.  In response, confirmation was provided that these were the more complex cases with Phase 2 of the data cleanse project now focussed on clearing these remaining cases, to ensure that the Fund was starting from an even stronger position next year.

John Crowhurst then provided the Board with an update regarding Project PACE.  Members were reminded this related to the introduction of a new pension administration system known as Universal Pensions Management (UPM) which would replace the current core five systems through which the various aspect of the Fund were currently administered.  Following a procurement process Civica had been selected as the new system supplier for the Fund.  The implementation stage of the project was now approaching, with Brent due to go live in the second phase of the project, which would be during September/October 2022.  Recognising data migration as a key risk, the Board was advised of the measures introduced to manage the process which included a series of data cuts before the ‘go live’ date to ensure that data was migrated effectively.  In terms of business readiness, it was noted that there would be changes for all stakeholders, and it meant that LPP would be working across two systems temporarily.  Work was, however, being prioritised to ensure service delivery issues were mitigated and to review the helpdesk structure as the new Portal was launched.

In terms of issues raised the Board noted the training and engagement being developed for scheme employers on the new system, which it was confirmed would also include payroll providers where that service had been outsourced by scheme employers.  The Board noted that regular updates continued to be provided with key activity over the current quarter having been detailed in section 7.2 of the report and the full updated risk log provided by LPP in relation to the project having been attached as Appendix C to the report.

As there were no further questions from Members, the Chair thanked John Crowhurst and officers for the update and it was RESOLVED that the report be noted with a further update on progress with Project PACE to be provided for the next meeting.