Agenda item

65.1.     The Board considered a report providing an update on matters relating to Pensions Administration activities.

£95k Exit Cap

65.2.     The Chair asked what effect the revoking by the Government of the £95k exit cap would have on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) given the potential issues it was causing to calculating pension benefits and strain costs.

65.3.     Paul Punter (PP), Head of Pensions Admin, said the removal of these regulations would make it easier to carry out pension benefits and strain costs, as the system is already designed to do them under the old regulations. The PAT will, however, retain Barnett Waddingham’s pension strain cost calculator and continue using Government Actuaries Department (GAD) unisex strain factors, rather than create a new set of Fund specific unisex factors, as both are seen as best practice. The only concern is that a lot of employers may now begin redundancies who had previously been holding off until the judicial review had been completed, although it is hoped that the additional work will not effect KPIs significantly.  

PAT Transfer

65.4.     The Chair asked whether the Orbis Helpdesk will answer ESPF calls as if the person is contacting the ESPF directly.

65.5.     PP explained that the helpdesk would not transfer in-house and ESPF calls would continue to be answered by the Orbis Helpdesk. He confirmed that, in keeping with the Communications Review, there would be a dedicated helpline within the Orbis Helpdesk that the helpdesk employees will answer as if it is an East Sussex phone line.

65.6.     LW asked how the helpdesk will achieve its objectives, for example, whether there would need to be an increased workload for staff.

65.7.     PP said that there are some reservations about achieving the objectives of the Helpdesk but Orbis would be supported to do so through recruitment of additional staff, the availability of “bank reserve staff”, the availability of overtime, support from other helpdesks and as a last resort, the ability of the PAT to pick up calls on their laptops to act as an overflow.   PP said there is a quarterly meeting with Orbis to discuss the transition to the new structure to proactively ensure that all parts are in place.

65.8.     LW asked how long the contract with Orbis helpdesk is for.

65.9.     PP said it is for three years with a six-month notice period for both sides.

65.10.  The Chair asked whether there are any concerns about the 1 April deadline for the transition of the PAT from Orbis back in-house. 

65.11.  PP said the 1 April has always been an ambitious target date but is achievable. PAT is working closely and collaboratively with Orbis and Aquila Heywood to deliver on time. Some less critical aspects of the transition will be undertaken post go live, such as a review of processes and procedures, to help minimise the risk of missing the target date. The project has a strong governance and reporting structure in place to identify any issues early.  

65.12.  The Chair asked how the work will be divided between the two pensions admin sub-teams within the structure chart.

65.13.  PP said that it would have been too large a team to have managed by a single manager so needed to be divided. There will be no specialisation between the two teams and the administrators on both will be trained to do all necessary tasks, although work will be assigned based on the skill and experience of individuals within the teams. Both team managers have good overall pensions knowledge and experience, working with the Fund for many years.

Employer Year End Returns

65.14.  The Chair advised the Board that the Pension Regulator had been in contact the Fund in relation to the two employers reported for failure to provide full year end returns.  One has since provided the outstanding data but the other was still having issues. The Pensions Regulator has indicated it is still interested in the issue being resolved and asked for further details on this and a separate breach which had been reported by SK.

65.15.  The Board RESOLVED to:

1) note the report;

2) express its support for the moving of the Pensions Administration Team in-house.