Agenda item

A report was presented to provide an update on administration services provided to the Teesside Pension Fund by XPS Administration. The report provided information on the following:

•        Overview.

•        Member Movement.

•        Member Self Service.

•        Pension Regulator Data Scores.

•        Customer Service.

•        Completed Cases Overview.

•        Completed Cases by Month.

•        Complaints.

The Overview provided information on a number of issues across the year.  The main item to highlight was the McCloud case and the remedy.  A new set of regulations was due to be issued in October 2023 which would provide a remedy to ensure that there was no discrimination.

There had been an increase in active, deferred and pensioner members.

The activity and registration of the Member Self Service System was static.  XPS would write to all Members during the course of the year to encourage people to come online.  However, if there was a preference for other methods of contact such as phone or paper, XPS would continue to provide that service.

Common Data scoring was good at 95.91%.  In readiness for the Pensions Dashboard XPS was undertaking a data mapping exercise in order to be able to carry out the necessary tests.  Once this work had been completed, XPS would be able to report a data score in accordance with the Pensions Regulator standards.  Public sector pension schemes had to connect to the Dashboard by October 2024, so in advance of this, the scheme data had to be tested and where necessary, brought up to the requisite standard required.  The Actuary had flagged some data which was not in required parameters which had allowed XPS to focus on some specific data sets in readiness.  It was clarified that AVCs would also be visible and it was confirmed that all pension schemes would be mandated to provide the required information.  

The Head of Pensions Governance and Investments commented that discussions had taken place with XPS regarding potential additional workloads from the implementation of the McCloud remedy and the Pensions Dashboard in particular.

With regard to customer service, the questionnaire for retired members continued to show a high rate of satisfaction.  A customer survey would appear in the next newsletter which could be accessed via a weblink.  Anyone without access to the internet could contact XPS directly to provide feedback.  The website traffic was steady and any changes in regulations were regularly updated.

The Employer Liaison team had been delivering sessions in person on both the Scheme and Pensions Tax along with Employer Health Checks. Feedback had been excellent and XPS was in the process of arranging further sessions.  The Year End Submission documentation was sent to all employers at the beginning of February and confirmed the submission deadline of 15 May 2023.  In addition to the standard guides, a virtual drop-in session was proposed, if uptake was positive, in order to offer clarification and training on the submission requirements.

In respect of the late payment analysis there were three Employers in this category, although all had paid within 10 days of the statutory time.   Reasons given for late payment tended to be changes to the payment or finance systems.  There was an error in the report on the November figure which should have been 99.6%, giving and overall total of 95.8%.  Overall it was an excellent performance by the Administration Team.

No new complaints had been received.

AGREED that the information provided was received and noted.