1. Background
1.1 This report is brought to the Pension Committee to provide an update on the communications activities of the East Sussex Pension Fund (the Fund).
1.2 The Fund has a Communications Strategy which defines the main methods of communication we provide for our key stakeholders. This paper includes a revised version of that document for consideration by the Pension Committee.
2.1. The Fund re-ran the 3-part member level training series (twice per session) in May 2025.
These consisted of:
1. Introduction to LGPS - this course covers the benefits of being in the LGPS.
2. Your Pension MOT - a course designed to help members keep up to date and engaged with their pension.
3. Preparing for Retirement - this course will help members who are thinking ahead to retirement and want to know more about the process, how their benefits are calculated and answers to key retirement questions.
There were 194 members booked on course 1, of whom 142 (73.2%) attended; 219 booked on course 2, of whom 176 (80.4%) attended; and 164 booked on course 3, of whom 131 (79.9%) attended.
2.2 The communications team continue to work closely with the Employer Engagement team in putting together a booking process, promotion via Scheme employers, scripts, YouTube videos (the videos for parts 1 and 2 are available online, whilst part 3 is recorded, edited and awaiting uploading); and sending out and collating feedback.
2.3 All slide decks have been updated to reflect 2025/26 limits and tweak content based on feedback from earlier sessions in January.
2.4 Further promotion via employers will take place for the events in October.
3. Communication Strategy refresh
3.1 The Communication Strategy outlines how the Fund will engage, educate, and fulfil the needs of its stakeholders, including members and employers, in line with Regulation 61 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations 2013. The Strategy must be reviewed and updated every 3 years. Officers have reviewed the Strategy and a proposed updated version is set out in Appendix 1.
3.2 The main means of communication with key stakeholders are outlined in the Strategy. These include making the best use of technology where appropriate, to provide quicker, more efficient, cost-effective, accessible communications.
3.3 The Strategy makes it clear from the start what the aims and objectives of the Fund are and how those will be measured. The Fund is becoming a more digitally focussed entity, but this journey takes time. The Strategy therefore strikes the right balance between ambition and practicality. Any superfluous content has been removed resulting in 242 fewer lines of text compared to the 2022 version.
3.4 The Committee are asked to approve the updated Communications Strategy, as set out in Appendix 1.
4. East Sussex Pension Fund main website
4.1 The website continues to be updated with relevant and engaging information for members and employers. Following the end of the tax year, content that includes limits (such as member contribution rates) have been updated.
4.2 Brand new content has been prepared for members who are looking to increase their pension via Additional Pension Contributions or AVCs. This now provides a far more detailed summary of this subject and can be found at the following link: Increase my pension | East Sussex Pension Fund.
4.3 Website analytics data are detailed Appendix 2.
5. Employer support material
5.1 The communications team have produced new material to support employers / the Fund’s own engagement team, including:
- Appointing a payroll provider guide;
- Becoming an employer in the Fund;
- A presentation to support employers going through redundancy exercises is now complete together with a fact sheet for employees - Redundancy fact sheet
- Transfer of your job to another employer;
- Updated members guides: 1. ‘A brief guide to the LGPS’, 2. ‘Retirement Planning Guide’ and 3. ‘AVCs and the LGPS’.
5.2 A set of presentations have been drafted covering the main processes and procedures employers have responsibility for under the LGPS. The Communications team will now collaborate with the Employer Engagement Team to refine content and work out a plan for promotion and delivery later in 2025.
6. Supporting end of tax year P60 and pension increase communications
6.1 Emails and letters were sent to support the issuing of the first payslip of the new tax year, pension increase and P60 notifications. Unless a pensioner had opted out of electronic communications, they were directed to the ‘My Pension’ website to pick up the documents.
7. ‘My Pension - member self-service website
7.1 An updated version of the member self-service website, ‘My Pension’ went live on 17 July 2024. The launch of this updated functionality is helping transform the way members access and engage with vital pension information online. The Fund will continue to promote ‘My Pension’ through newsletters, the website and through employers.
7.2 Since the previous paper, employers (with 50+ members) have been written to, offering personalised support in promoting ‘My Pension’. Any employer with a take-up rate less than the average of the top 20 employers (48%) received an email alerting them to this fact and providing avenues of support.
Shown below (as of 30 April 2025) are current registration levels (excluding electronic opt outs):
|
Type of member |
On Engage (number) |
% registered for ‘My Pensions’ |
|
Contributing |
9278 |
43.5 |
|
No longer contributing |
7134 |
32.6 |
|
Pensioners |
7190 |
56.8 |
|
Widow/dependant |
521 |
33.1 |
8. Conclusion and reasons for recommendation
8.1 The Pension Committee is recommended to approve the updated Communications Strategy for 2025, as set out in Appendix 1.
|
IAN GUTSELL |
||
|
Chief Finance Officer |
||
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Officer: |
Susan Greenwood, Head of Pensions |
|
|
Email: |
||