Agenda item

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

John Smith (Pensions Manager, Brent Council) introduced the report, outlining the performance of the Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) against the Service Level Agreement’s (SLA’s) during the period 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025. In introducing the report, he highlighted the following key points:

• It was reported that, in Q1 2025-26, the LPPA processed 98.9% of cases on time, with none of the case types falling below 95%.

• Drawing members’ attention to figure 2 of the report, he advised that 60% of transfers in for non-critical processes and 95% of transfers out had been completed within their required timeframes.

• Regarding call centres performance, John Smith stated that the average waiting time had increased to three minutes and fifty-seven seconds (over thirty seconds longer than in the previous quarter) and that the trend had been gradually increasing. Despite this, 64% of calls were answered within their target timings. Although some members had reported finding it difficult to get through on occasion, the quality of service once connected had been reported as high.

• Complaints were discussed next, with eight new complaints received during the quarter, noted as slightly fewer than in the previous reporting period. This equated to fewer than three complaints per month.

Following introduction of the report, the Chair welcomed Chris Batts from LPPO, the Council’s administration service provider, who provided further detailed updates regarding recent pensions administration performance, summarised below:

• Chris Batts confirmed that the LPPA had continued to meet or exceed the 95% target for issuing Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) to all eligible members.

• Returning to the contact centre delays, he explained that higher wait times in Q1 were expected due to seasonal peaks with pensioner enquiries, particularly following the integration of payroll at the beginning of the calendar year, and more recent figures had shown improvement before being affected by staff sickness.

• Customer satisfaction with individual call centre agents was consistently high, while overall satisfaction had remained at 78.2% in Q1, mirroring the previous quarter.

• Approximately 8% of customers were dissatisfied, which was considered acceptable at below 10%, though it was noted there was still room for improvement. The complaints process was then elaborated on, with LPPA having established an internal complaints board to undertake monthly case sampling and trend analysis. The most common trend observed related to managing customer expectations during delays. Currently, efforts were being made to adopt a “members first” approach to improve communication and transparency.

• Employer notifications of retirements were discussed next, reporting that only 37% had been received on time during Q1, a decline from the previous quarter. Work was ongoing with employers to address challenges to timely submissions, particularly around notice periods. LPPA’s aspiration to ensure that retirees’ first pension payment was received within 30 days of retirement was reiterated, with it noted that, whilst this was an ambitious target that could not always be met, LPPA’s efforts were directed at ensuring this occurred in the majority of cases.

• An update on the LPPA’s member portal was given which had grown to over 4,500. A recent survey on the Pension Point online portal had received more than 1,200 responses. Results indicated that 81% of respondents were satisfied with the portal, 75% could find what they were looking for and 42% visited the site monthly (most likely noted to be pensioners checking payslips). Brent’s representation on the portal was approximately 10%.

• Moving forward to discuss the service improvement and efficiency programme, Chris Batts reported progress on full end-to-end automation on deferred retirement processes, with approximately 50% of quotes now automated. The online retirement form was now live online, improving turnaround times and eliminating postage delays. The next phase would focus on implementing an online leaver form for employers, which would incorporate real-time validation to reduce errors. Training and support were also to be provided to ensure a smooth transition of the service.

• By 31 August, 96.8% of benefit statements had been issued to active and deferred members. Under the McCloud remedy process, 60% of retrospective cases had been assessed, with 94% showing no adjustment required and around 6% still requiring payments.

• Delays in connecting to the Pensions Dashboard were reported, with Chris Batts explaining that the target date of the 31^st of October had been missed with a revised completion date now set for mid-December 2025. There was no material impact for members of the fund, and the issue was not considered a reportable breach by The Pensions Regulator.

Following the update, the Chair thanked John Smith and Chris Batts for their report and invited questions from members of the Board, with questions and responses summarised below:

• Members began by questioning which aspects of the service members were dissatisfied with, wishing to know how quickly improvements could be made. Chris Batts replied that dissatisfaction mainly related to service delays, often caused by genuine operational reasons. He reported that a better management of expectations and the communication of this would play a key focus in future improvements.

• Members sought an explanation for the volume of casework carried forward. Chris Batts explained that there would always be cases carried forward due to pending information or recent submissions and that this was a normal function.

• In terms of the long-term outlook for the McCloud Remedy, members heard that McCloud-related work would continue for several years as it transitioned into standard business operations.

• The Board asked what the implications of the Pensions Dashboard were and was reassured that there were no adverse consequences to note and that it would have no impact on members or statutory requirements to meet regulatory compliance.

• Returning to discuss performance, members inquired over contact centre response times and if these were expected to improve in the near future. Chris Batts acknowledged members concerns but explained that fluctuations were inevitable. The Board was informed that efforts were ongoing to strengthen resource planning and minimise disruption, aided by further staff recruitment.

The Chair thanked John Smith and Chris Batts for their thorough presentation and moved to conclude the item. With no further comments it was RESOLVED that the report be noted.