Issue - meetings

51.1     The Committee considered a report on the Annual Benefit Statement programme for 2018, including a summary of the circumstances which led to a breach.

51.2     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) note the report; and

2) request regular updates during the year on the progress of the Annual Benefit Statement programme.

1.1.        The Board considered a report providing a summary of the circumstances which led to a breach of the deadline for issuing Annual Benefit Statements (ABS).

1.2.        KA asked why the breach of the deadline for issuing the ABS was being blamed on an individual member of the team. BS explained that management took responsibility for the plan which involved switching ABS production to East Sussex rather than Surrey, which left a single person to achieve the goal without sufficient supervision in place from Kingston. MM said that he believed that the issue would not happen in future years.

1.3.        SM asked whether the breach of the ABS demonstrated to Internal Audit that there were issues with the control environment for the pension administration team. DS said that Internal Audit had looked at the ABS internal control environment at the time of its recent audit of pension administration and noted slippage in the plan, but had not raised a formal action in the report (though it was noted) as management was working to a revised plan which appeared to be on course.

1.4.        The Chair expressed concern that the ABS deadline was breached despite the concern the Board expressed earlier in the year and the reassurance that officers gave through monthly updates leading up to the 31 August deadline. He said that this meant that there was a gap in the credibility of what was being said during the year and the eventual outcome. He hoped that a breach would not occur again as many other administering authorities were able to avoid breaching the deadline, whereas the ESPF had done so now for the previous four years in a row. 

1.5.        The Chair asked whether officers planned to write to Gildredge House Free School to highlight its role in the breach of the ABS deadline and potential fine from the Pensions Regulator it could have incurred on the Fund.

1.6.        OO said that the Pensions Regulator has confirmed that no fine or further action will be taken against the ESPF for the breach caused by Gildredge House.

1.7.        The Board RESOLVED to note the report.

51.1.      The Board considered a report on the planned production of Annual Benefits statements for ESPF members for 2018.

51.2.      RS suggested elected members could assist officers in encouraging those employers who look likely to miss the deadline for End of Year (EoY) returns to complete the necessary work (which is a major factor in missing the Annual Benefit Statement deadline). The Chair suggested that this may be possible for employers such as academies that may have elected members on their governing boards.

51.3.      Wendy Neller (WN), Pensions Strategy and Governance Manager, explained that officers could engage with employers that have had issues submitting their EoY returns in the previous year to see whether they have any payroll issues that may prevent them submitting the EoY return by 30 April. She added that sometimes an employer has outsourced its payroll so officers need to ensure that requests for EoY returns are sent to the correct people. The employer will be copied into any correspondence to the outsourced payroll provider. 

51.4.      Jason Bailey (JB), Lead Pensions Manager, confirmed that as per the schedule the EoY templates are being  issued to employers in February along with a confirmation of receipt request and a request that employers raise any potential issues that Orbis could  assist with; Orbis will follow up with any employers during March  that do request assistance.

51.5.      The Board RESOLVED to note the report.