Agenda item

Pensions Administration Report

(To receive a report by Yunus Gajra (Head of Governance and Business Development, West Yorkshire Pension Fund) which offers the Board the quarterly report of the Fund's administrator, West Yorkshire Pension Fund)

Minutes:

Yunus Gajra, Head of Governance and Business Development, West Yorkshire Pension Fund, introduced the report and outlined current administration issues. All key performance indictors had either been met or exceeded.  Comments from the customer satisfaction surveys conducted in the quarter were generally positive, however, a small number of complaints were received from issues ranging from tax deduction to transfer for pension benefits. All employers training had been moved over to a virtual facility, offering the benefit of higher participation from shared service partner employers. Only two cases of scheme members' disputes were active during the quarter: an appeal against an ill health pension and a complaint because of late payments following issues with Prudential.

Until recently, Prudential had been providing a positive service for AVC holders. However, their administration platform had been changed earlier this year resulting in issues. Members AVC deductions had been taken by employers, but hadn't been allocated to their accounts by Prudential. Therefore, members weren't able to see up-to-date contributions in their AVC accounts. Prudential confirmed that members wouldn’t lose out on any investment income. This also had an impact for retiring members; long delays were taking place when pension values were being sought from Prudential, resulting in a delay in starting to pay monthly pension benefits. Prudential had offered assurances that issues would be resolved by April 2021, which was unfortunately inaccurate. Members' AVC annual statements had also been delayed by at least eight weeks. Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire Pension Funds had reported Prudential to the Pensions Regulator.

Annual benefits statements would be offered digitally this year. Yunus explained the overall WYPF budget for this financial year was £15.43 million and offered a further breakdown of the per member budget. He explained that preparation for the potential impact from McCloud was beginning with engagement with Civica. Templates had been circulated to employers which sought details such as missing hours or breaks in service. Some information had been received back. Staff were being recruited in increase resources in key areas.

In relation to the issues at Prudential, while appreciating the importance of active member contributions being appropriately recorded, the Board were concerned that the retirees weren't being offered priority, particularly because retired members may not be able to access their income. The Head of Governance and Business Development explained that retired members' lump sums had been paid, allowing them some income. Older cases were being prioritised first. In a follow up question, the Board asked if outstanding cases were likely to be progressed to the pension's ombudsman. The Head of Governance and Business Development said this was likely. The Head of Pensions stressed that there were only a very low number of members whom actually had AVCs.

The Board sought clarity if it was expected that Prudential would send out a further update letter. The Head of Governance and Business Development didn't expect anything further until they had a final date for resumption of normal service. The Board suggested contacting the other authorities that used Prudential to increase the pressure on them. The Head of Governance and Business Development stated that this was discussed at pensions officer groups. He added that the FCA were also aware of the issues. The Head of Pensions was contacted on 23 June by Prudential who said that they would come back with an update in the near future. She noted Prudential's excellent record prior to the current problems.

The Board asked how long it would be until the annual pension statements for Lincolnshire County Council members were issued. Lisa Darvill, West Yorkshire Pension Fund, explained that West Yorkshire was waiting for information from LCC's payroll provider on the March data return which would resolve the outstanding issues relating to the introduction of Lincolnshire County Council's new payroll system in 2015. The Head of Governance and Business Development confirmed that if members had received an e-mail, their ABS should be available on the portal. The Head of Governance and Business Development was confident that all ABS's would be issued by the statutory deadline of the end of August.

The Board were surprised how low the access to the portal was, and low in comparison to other funds. The Head of Governance and Business Development explained other funds had been issuing benefit statements electronically through their portal for a few years, and had therefore increased use of the portal over that time.  This is the first year West Yorkshire has issued annual benefit statements electronically through a portal.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

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