Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report which provided an overview of the administrative activities of the Northamptonshire Pensions Fund.

The Governance and Regulations Manager highlighted that the majority of key performance indicators (KPIs) had been met in the last quarter, with the exception of 4, which were set out in Appendix A. There was a red flag for the payment of retirement benefits from active employment and the targets had been missed for January and March. This was due to inexperience within the team and because additional training was required. This would be resolved as the new members become more experienced. In addition, there was one member of the team off on long term sick. It was noted that there was an error in the estimate section with regard to the February target which should say 87%. Following a comprehensive review of the current KPIs, supplementary indicators were being introduced to measure the member’s overall customer journey. These KPIs had been agreed by the Pension Committee in March 2023, and would be developed over the next twelve months. Referring to appendix B; 100% of contributions had been received on time which was very positive.

The Governance and Regulations Manager highlighted that non-material breach of the law, which had occurred as 197 letters due to be sent out in January were issued in early February. This had occurred result of a change in reporting method and an upgraded report was now being utilised. These letters were required to be sent out within 2 months after an employee left. There was one data error regarding a date or birth, which led to an unauthorised payment as the member was over age 75, this was an isolated incident and had been rectified.

Further to an enquiry, the Governance and Regulations Manager advised that members of the scheme under the regulations need to retire by 75 and after this age they would have to self declare any tax to HMRC. There was a control in the system to ensure that Members were contacted as they approached their 75^th year.

Councillor Weatherill, referring to appendix C, welcomed the positive figures but noted that there had been a late submission. The Governance and Regulations Manager advised that this was an isolated incident, the service had a good relationship with employers with established processes in place with most issues being resolved quickly. An escalation process was in place if required.

With regard to the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure cases, one complex case had been extended to 18 May by the Monitoring Officer.

In April 2023, an analysis of the Fund’s common data was undertaken which provided a score of 93.9%, the Pensions Regulator looked for a score of 95%. The approach to increasing the Fund’s score was detailed in the Data Improvement Plan in appendix D. Three areas of improvement had been identified: national insurance number, date of birth, addresses incorrect data occurred as some deferred members moved house frequently before their benefit is due. The Pensions Regulator had not issued standard guidance as to how to report or how to capture data and therefore it was difficult to directly compare performance with other pensions services. The Pensions Regulator had been asked to provide guidance. The Head of Pensions advised that other Funds had a similar score. All addresses needed to be screened and moving to digital production would assist with this process.. The Governance and Regulations Manager highlighted that those coming up to retirement must be contacted as a priority. Kev Standishday suggested that a note be added to the Unison blog to remind people to check their addresses on the self service system.

The Governance and Regulations Manager reported that at there were 989 cases at the rectification stage of the GMP project. Unprocessed leaver records had been included in the Business Plan and the Data Improvement Plan accordingly.

RESOLVED:   The Local Pension Board noted the Northamptonshire Pensions Fund -                            Administration Performance Report.