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8.1.        The Board considered a report providing an update on matters relating to the Orbis Pension Administration Team (PAT), including an update on the implementation of agreed actions arising from the two internal audit reports

8.2.        The Chair asked whether the PAT had noticed an increase in the number of deaths of pensioners in the ESPF scheme as a result of COVID-19.

8.3.        Claire Chambers (CC) confirmed that the number of deaths of pensioners had tripled during one week around a month ago. The Government’s new Tell Us Once death certification scheme meant, however, that the PAT was being informed rapidly of deaths and was able to take action, for example, award dependent benefits, without needing to wait for the death certificate.

8.4.        Stephen Osborn (SO) asked when iConnect – the system used by employers to upload member details electronically to the PAT on a monthly basis – would begin to be available to all employers.

8.5.        CC said that the first employer it would be available to would be East Sussex County Council and the aim was to finalise testing and training during June to go live in July. There was no date confirmed yet for other employers in the Fund. Nick Weaver (NW) added that iConnect roll out would focus on the employers with the highest volume of scheme members, as 15 employers represent 80% of scheme members. For small employers with only a few members, iConnect would not offer such a significant benefit. It will help identify issues with the data held by employers, however, PAT resources would be required to monitor the quality of data being provided to the Fund.

8.6.        SO asked when ITM would identify the addresses of the remainder of the deferred records with no address or confirmation of correct address.

8.7.        CC explained that the initial tracing exercise had focussed on members reaching retirement age or with frozen benefits. The next project being planned would be to expand the scope to focus on other deferred members. The Chair said that it is possible to send the National Insurance number of employees to the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) seeking the last known address of that person, however, this is a long and resource intensive process. He suggested that there is an obligation on ex-employees to contact the Fund when they change address and particularly to keep the Fund informed of their address as they approach retirement age.

8.8.        CA noted that the completion dates of a number of outstanding management actions from the Internal Audit report had passed without the action being completed.

8.9.        NW accepted this and said he would speak to the owners of the actions to find out what the current status was and suggest more realistic dates, following the impact of COVID-19 on the various workstreams.

8.10.      The Chair asked for the comments of Internal Audit in relation to the implementation of agreed actions.

8.11.      Nigel Chilcott (NC) explained that this is Pension Fund management’s update to the Board explaining where they are with the implementation of the agreed actions arising from the audit reports, and that it is their responsibility to ensure these are implemented by the agreed due dates.

8.12.      He explained that we will be completing formal follow-up reviews where Internal Audit seeks evidence that that the agreed actions have been implemented. The follow-ups were originally scheduled for June/July, once the originally agreed dates for implementation had passed, but the team was now reviewing when to do these in light of this report by management.

8.13.      The Chair extended the thanks of the Board to the PAT for the work they had undertaken during the COVID-19 outbreak to maintain strong performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and noted the strong positive feedback from scheme members on the self-service system.

8.14.      The Board RESOLVED to note the report