Agenda item

This report updates the Pension Board on various pensions administration matters as part of its remit to oversee the administration of the Brent Pension Fund.

John Smith (Pensions Manager, Brent Council) introduced the report, which updated the Pension Board on various pensions’ administration matters as part of its remit to oversee the administration of the Brent Pension Fund.

In discussing the overall performance of LPPA during Quarter 3 2023/24, members were advised that, despite retirements from active status (91.7%) and deaths (90.8%), casework performance was above service level agreements (SLAs). Nevertheless, given that retirements and deaths should be considered as top priorities, officers had previously raised concerns that the more critical work was falling below the expected performance standard. The Board was then informed of the most recent Helpdesk performance, in which the average wait time fell below 3 minutes, under the 4 minute SLA target. However, although percentage of calls waiting over 15 minutes decreased to almost 0, nearly 20% of callers waited between 5 and 15 minutes. In moving to consider the number of complaints received during the reporting period, John Smith detailed that 27 new complaints had been received which was considered high by historical standards. To conclude, John Smith reviewed the interim performance data for January 2024 in which 92.9% of retirements from active status and 92.6% of retirements from deferred status had been processed within SLAs, in addition to 100% of cases relating to deaths. This was an incremental improvement on performance during Quarter 3, with the key metrics either within SLA or improving upon recent performance.

Following the introduction of the report, the Chair welcomed John Crowhurst from LPPA, the Council’s administration service provider, who provided a verbal update regarding recent pensions administration performance, with the update summarised below:

•         In providing a further update on performance regarding cases relating to retirements from active status and deaths in Quarter 4 2024, members were advised that the percentage of deaths cases being processed within SLA was currently 99.2% and the percentage of retirements from active status being processed within SLA was just under 92%. To give further context behind the statistics, John Crowhurst attributed the improvement in processing deaths cases to improved staff training and contingency planning with operational teams and managers. Moreover, the continued poor performance relating to retirements from active was due to a number of factors. One such factor was a technical issue in uploading the required data for those of normal pension age who received an uplift which led to some delays, although the Board was reassured that this issue had now been resolved. Nevertheless, members noted that the technical issue would likely cause lags in performance over Quarter 4 and it was hoped that Quarter 1 2024/25 performance data would show performance improvements in processing retirements from active status.

•         Regarding Helpdesk performance, the Board was informed that the data related specifically to calls from Brent members, with the volume of calls dropping from 431 in November to 257 in December, which was not surprising as there were fewer working days in December. In highlighting the abandonment rate of calls, it was detailed that 10.6% of callers were abandoning calls in January 2023 compared to 2.4% in December 2023. Furthermore, in December just under 60% of calls were answered in 2 minutes or less, with a third being answered between 2 and 10 minutes. In explaining that LPPA had undertaken a detailed review of Helpdesk performance, John Crowhurst stated that Monday mornings were the busiest time for the Helpdesk, with mornings generally busier than afternoons in addition to working days following bank holidays. In response to the review, LPPA was ensuring that Helpdesk staff were deployed to calls during peak periods, rather than assisting with emails and portal enquiries.

•         In discussing the Helpdesk satisfaction score, members heard that the score was quite volatile, with a significant increase in satisfaction during December 2023 to 87.5%. However, the Board noted that responses to satisfaction surveys were relatively low as the data only related to Brent members, with 8 responses received out of 257 calls. Consequently, John Crowhurst stated that overall satisfaction scores could be provided if necessary to give a better indication of LPPA performance. Similarly, only one response had been received regarding retirements from active satisfaction and therefore the overall satisfaction score would provide a better overview of customer satisfaction.

•         Concerning the main drivers behind customer satisfaction, John Crowhurst detailed that satisfaction increased the closer that one was paid to their retirement date, which was impacted by numerous factors such as when LPPA were notified of the retirement, whether disinvestment was required, data returns from employers and how quickly LPPA commenced the retirement process once the required information had been received (normally within 5 working days but the aspiration was to start the process within 24 hours, although it was stated that this aspiration would take some time to achieve). Regarding the aforementioned factors determining the date of payment, members were advised that work was ongoing to improve information flows and communication to improve data returns and general processes.

•         In referencing page 40 of the agenda pack which outlined the number of members signed up to the online portal, the Board noted that registrations had steadily increased (3,683 as of December 2023) although the number of registered members was lower than the previous member portal which was approximately 4,200.

•         In finalising, John Crowhurst updated members on The Pensions Regulator (TPR) data quality scores. It was explained that the common score was stable, sitting at 96.24% as of December 2023. The 4% missing mainly related to missing data from deferred members, with both officers and third parties attempting to trace members for updated information. In moving to the scheme score, the Board heard that this was more volatile with expected dips between April and August each year due to Annual Benefit Statement data which generally recovered in the following six months, with Quarter 4 data particularly illustrating improvements. Prior to concluding, John Crowhurst informed members that LPPA was conducting a data project to improve data scores, with more detail to follow once further progress had been made.

After the verbal update, the Chair invited questions from Board members, with questions and responses summarised below:

•         Regarding the general nature of the new complaints, the Board noted that 8 related to delays and 19 related to the general service provided.

•         In response to a query concerning whether the Council and LPPA met with payroll providers to reduce delays and discrepancies, it was detailed that payroll providers were engaged via the Employers Forum and employers were encouraged to hold regular meetings with their payroll providers to ensure that they were carrying out their duties. Moreover, the Board was informed that monthly data returns were launched in April 2023 which had led to over 80% of membership data being collected and reconciled as of December 2023, showing that employers had adapted quickly to the new system. The next step to improve the service was to agree a standard notice of retirement, with the aspiration of one month notice to allow LPPA to commence the processes required.

•         In discussing the underperformance of LPPA in relation to processing bereavements and retirements from active status, members were advised that the main issue regarding the bereavement process had been resources, with additional training delivered to improve capacity and reduce delays. Concerning the retirement process, it was detailed that a system issue had resulted in delays which had now been resolved, although performance lags would still be visible in the Quarter 4 performance report.

•         Given that complaints were the main indicator of customer satisfaction due the low response rates for customer satisfaction surveys, the Board queried whether more information could be provided in relation to complaints. In response, members were advised that LPPA broke down complaints by process type and therefore more granular data could be provided. Furthermore, LPPA recorded complaints that arose due to issues outside of LPPA’s control, such as late notification of retirement and delays in submitting information. Consequently, the Board requested for more in-depth information to be provided regarding complaints at the next meeting.

In turning the Board’s attention to the next part of the report which related to the internal audit of the Pension Fund’s arrangements regarding the monitoring of the pensions administration contract and the collection of pension contributions, Sawan Shah (Head of Finance, Brent Council) explained that internal audits of the Council’s key financial areas were conducted on a rolling basis every 3 years, with the last Pension Fund audit occurring in 2019. Importantly, no critical, high or low risk issues were identified during the audit, although there was one medium risk identified which related to late submissions of monthly contribution returns by employers/payroll providers and where repercussions outlined within the Pension Administration Strategy were not followed through. However, the scheme manager was aware of this risk as it had been previously flagged, which mainly related to a specific payroll provider used by many schools, with officers writing to schools who made use of this payroll provider’s services to highlight the need to ensure that their payroll provider was fulfilling all their responsibilities and to ensure that appropriate contract management was taking place. In response, many schools had elected to move to another provider.

In addition to the risk identified above, the audit flagged a number of examples of good practice including: a clear and up to date Pension Administration Strategy, the management of data contribution returns, the oversight of the LPPA pensions administration contract by officers and the Board.

In thanking Sawan Shah for the update, the Chair welcomed questions from the Board, with questions and responses summarised below:

•         In response to a query as to whether any other risks outside of the monitoring of the pensions administration contract and pension contributions were identified, members were advised that the audit was limited in scope to these issues and therefore no further risks were identified.

As there were no further questions from Members, the Chair thanked the Pension Team and John Crowhurst for the update, and it was RESOLVED that the report be noted.