Agenda item

Representatives from the Tyne & Wear Pension Fund were in attendance to provide the TWPF Pensions Administration Report. As mentioned previously, Members heard that responsibility for the administration of the Teesside Pension Fund had now been successfully transferred from XPS Group to the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund (TWPF) as part of a shared service agreement. The transition was not without its difficulties but a stable phase had now been reached. All new cases were currently being processed under standard business procedures, indicating a return to normal operations.

As previously reported, the transition of administration resulted in a significant increase in the volume of calls to the Pensions Helpline and during this period, there were weeks when only 40% of calls were successfully answered, indicating the heightened demand for support and guidance. TWPF reacted by allocating extra staff and by December, 79% of calls were answered, showing significant improvement. The rise in answered calls reflects TWPF's ongoing commitment to effective member support and TWPF aimed to further raise this figure and consistently provide excellent service through the Pensions Helpline.

TWPF’s default method of communication was digital, meaning that members would receive documents and updates electronically unless they specifically requested to continue receiving paper correspondence. This brought significant efficiencies and cost savings.

A Member raised that making all communication digital could affect the level of service Members receive and noted that it could be viewed as transferring the cost to pensioners who would have to use their own resources to print a letter. Members were reassured by the TWPF representative that paper communication was still available on an opt-in basis and once TWPF were made aware that a Member still required paper communication, this would continue for the foreseeable. TWPF tried to be accommodating to all Members.

Members were advised that there was a statutory duty on employers to provide information regarding their members. TWPF relied heavily on this data to maintain accurate member records, calculate and pay benefits, and provide annual benefit statements. As a result, TWPF closely monitored the overall performance of employers and kept track of any outstanding queries.

Whilst it was acknowledged that there was a period of adjustment whilst employers familiarised themselves with new working practices, the Employer Services Team would continue to review employers who reached trigger levels and support would be provided where necessary which included a dedicated employer helpline, training webinars and meetings.

A Member expressed concern around the estimated timeframes for data issues to be resolved and how this would impact Members at and approaching retirement age. It was confirmed that pensioner data needed less resolution and a lot of the issues lied with deferred Members as there was missing information that required TWPF to contact former employers to provide. Members of the Committee were reassured that this was a high priority for TWPF but unfortunately it was out of their hands and had to be done.

A Member acknowledged that TWPF’s service had improved after the teething issues at the beginning of the transfer and noted that feedback had been positive from Members of the Fund. It was raised that the website could be more streamlined and representatives from TWPF confirmed that they were looking into website improvements and would take the suggestion away.

ORDERED that the information provided was received and noted.