Agenda item

The Board is asked to consider the Administration Report from the 23 October 2020 Pensions Committee by the Director of Finance and Support Services.

23.1     The Board received a report by the Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

23.2     Tara Atkins introduced the report and confirmed that there had been 100% compliance in all areas for nine months.  There were 18 deferred members without an Annual Benefits Statement for which the team were working on.  Pension Saving Statements had been fully completed.  Specific employers were being contacted to improve their performance for data submissions.  There had been two low risk data breaches and officers were investigating into whether annual benefit statements which were unable to be produced constituted a material breach to the Pension Regulator.

23.3     Andrew Lowe, Head of Pensions, Investments & Borrowing at Hampshire, commented that the report portrayed the service well and reported that administration staff had adapted well to working from home arrangements.

23.4     The Board made comments including those that follow.

•     Queried the impact from Covid-19 on employers.  - Tara Atkins reported that there had only been one employer who had been impacted by Covid-19 with regard to administration. There were no employers with consistent issues with payment of contributions each month.

•     Asked if the employer issues were linked to certain types of employers.  – Andrew Lowe reported that it was a mix of employers and that focus was on those with data quality issues.

•     Sought confirmation that appropriate contact was made with the relevant people for the employer for data concerns.  – Andrew Lowe confirmed that contact was made with high level contacts within the organisation, with a letter sent on behalf of Katherine Eberhart, Director of Finance and Support Services.

•     Asked how Covid-19 had impacted the pension administration team.  – Andrew Lowe confirmed that the team had adapted well.  Initially there was a requirement to ensure that an appropriate phone system was in place to allow administrators to work from home.  This system was now in place, stable, and working well.  There had been good engagement with the County Council and employers which had led to a good general position.

•     Commented on the discussed issues concerning regulation changes and how this would impact administration workloads.  – Andrew Lowe confirmed that the administration team were working with schemes to understand the impact of the changes to allow consideration of resource implications.

•     Queried the communications planned for the regulation changes.  – Andrew Lowe confirmed that conversations were regularly taking place with schemes on this, with a particular current focus on the exit cap.  The importance of communication was recognised, and a plan to inform would be established when there was more clarity on the regulations.

•     Noted the current limit for members to request one calculation per year, and asked if there would be exceptions to this given the proposed changes and impact for members.  – Andrew Lowe reported that members could run estimates themselves via the member portal.  It was likely that the limit would remain in place, and members would be encouraged to use the portal.  Board members asked if the portal would highlight where changes had been applied.  Andrew Lowe agreed to check with the team to see how changes would be communicated.

•     Asked if there was national guidance on communications for the changes.  – Rachel Wood explained that the County Council had put a freeze on estimates until national guidance was clear on how to apply the changes.  Andrew Lowe confirmed that West Sussex County Council and Hampshire County Council, as Administering Authorities, were seeking legal advice for the instances where the regulations were in conflict.  The Chairman confirmed the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) was also challenging the legislation changes.

23.5     Resolved – That the Board note the update.