Issue - meetings

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Danni Lamaignere, Scheme Manager

Janine May, Senior Pensions Advisor

Jo Hart, Pensions Officer – SFRS (attended remotely)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.      The Chair noted that actions A20/20 and A10/24 had been merged and the latter would be removed as a separate entry from the action tracker.

2.      An XPS representative expected to provide an update on GMP in the next several weeks.

3.      The Chair enquired whether the data referenced in A2/24 had been provided to XPS. The Scheme Manager explained some were found on scrutiny. The Service expected to provide the data to XPS by the end of February.

4.      The Chair suggested that actions A11/24, A12/24, and A13/24 could be closed depending on the discussion of later items.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

Close A11/24, A12/24, A13/24

Resolved:

The Board noted the report.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Danni Lamaignere, Scheme Manager

Janine May, Senior Pensions Advisor

Jo Hart, Pension Support Assistant (MS Teams)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    In relation to Action A1/20, the Vice-Chairman noted that the 208 individuals originally contacted represented the entire cohort that needed to be contacted at that time.

2.    In relation to A20/20, The Board noted that they were awaiting a response from XPS.

3.    In relation to A7/21, XPS were unable to provide a comment regarding the ongoing tracing work. The Chairman requested that XPS review each action prior to future meetings to identify any points of consideration to raise with Members.

4.    Officers further noted that Actions A7/21 and A7/22 were part of an ongoing programme of work related to the Pension Dashboard. The Board agreed to close these actions, subject to a future report on the Pension Dashboard referencing the key points of the actions.

5.    Members agreed to close Actions A6/24, A8/24 and A11/24.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

Actions A7/21 and A7/22 – closed.

Actions A6/24, A8/24 and A11/24 – closed.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Danni Lamaignere, Scheme Manager

Gary Bartliff, Senior Pensions Advisor

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. In regard to Action A1/20, officers stated that the team had focused on prioritising the creation and distribution of retained settlement statements to address the backlog. The Data Protection Impact Assessment had to be finalised before commencing the tracing exercise. Additionally, the pensions team explored the procedure for implementing accepted settlements, which was still under review.
2. In regard to Action A6/23, officers stated that the pensions team had continued to supply the required GAD data to XPS for all cohorts of membership. They were at the point of tidying up any unusual or outstanding cases.
3. The Board agreed to close Action A7/23.
4. Members noted that there were three additional actions noted within the minutes of the previous meeting. These were:

A3/24 - A Member of the Board stated that he was aware of members of the

pension scheme who had not received their pension forecast figures on time

and further stated that members of the scheme were frustrated with the lack of

information. The Chairman requested the detail be shared with XPS allowing

an investigation.

A4/24 – The Chairman asked for detail on data included within the ‘general’

section within the tables under Completed Cases by Month. The

representative from XPS would seek more information to be shared with the

Board and the Pensions Team.

A5/24 - it was agreed that it would be beneficial for XPS and the Pension

Team to liaise further in order to better understand each other’s processes.

5. In regard to Action A4/24, the Chairman noted that the information had not yet been shared with XPS and requested that the Member contact XPS directly if any issues remained.
6. In regard to Action A5/24, the representative from XPS explained that the "general" category was used for items not already specified within the service level agreement.
7. In regard to Action A6/24, the representative from XPS informed the Board that they had met with the Pension Team to discuss each other’s processes and explore ways to maximise collaboration from both sides.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Danni Lamaignere, Scheme Manager

Gary Bartliff, Senior Pensions Advisor

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Chairman introduced the Action and Recommendation Tracker and thanked officers for their work updating the latest tracker. The following comments were raised:

Action A7/23 – The Vice-Chairman asked whether the pensions regulator had been updated in regard to the completion of Annual Benefit Statements. A discussion was had on whether this was necessary, as it was an internal breech, which had been remidied, and, following discussion, officers were asked to provide members with an update at the next meeting.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman introduced the Action and Recommendation Tracker. The following comments were raised:

A1/22 – 10% Pensionable Pay – The Board agreed to close the action.

A20/20 -  GMP Exercise – The Board noted that officers were awaiting a final update from XPS. The representative from XPS confirmed the a report had been received from Mercer and XPS were due to meet with Mercer for a discussion.

A7/21 - Address Tracing Update – XPS confirmed that a basic unit price had been received and that they were awaiting information on the scheme members that needed to be covered.

A3/23 – Member Tracing – the representative from XPS confirmed that information would be provided outside the meeting. Cllr Harrison noted that this action had been ongoing for some time and stated that it was important that progress was made.

A5/23 - Longest Failure – The Board agreed to close this action.

A7/23 – Annual Benefit Statements – The representative from XPS confirmed that they expected the Annual Benefit Statements to be online by close of business on 9 February 2024.

Closed actions – the Board agreed to close the items noted within the ‘completed actions’ section of the tracker.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman introduced the Action and Recommendation Tracker. The following comments were raised:

A11/22 - Pension Scams – The Scheme Manager suggested that the action be closed which was agreed.

A7/23 - Annual Benefit Statements – The Scheme Manager stated that the Annual Benefit Statements were not published by the deadline due to changes in the payroll software. XPS were due to make the statements available online by the end of November 2023. A member of the Board stated that he understood that officer annual leave within the pension team also caused issued and asked what insurances were in place to prevent future similar issues. The Scheme Manager stated that she was not aware that the publication was impacted by resources however noted that a risk register item on resources was due to be considered within Part 2 of the meeting’s agenda.

Closed actions – the Board agreed to close the items noted within the ‘completed actions’ section of the tracker.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Paul Mudd, XPS

Phillip Johnson, Senior Pensions Advisor

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman introduced the Action and Recommendation Tracker. The following comments were raised:

A20/20 GMP Exercise -  Members noted that Weightmans were in the process of reviewing the draft template to complete the calculations.

A7/21 Address Update – XPS explained that discussions with the provider were continuing to take place. Members noted the update and asked that XPS progress the project so that it could be completed as soon as possible.

A10/22 Feedback on XPS – The Board agreed to close the action as no further complaints had been received.

A1/23 – Pensions Dashboard - The Board agreed to close the action as the detail was being reported within other standing items. 

A11/22 Pensions Scams – The representative from XPS provided Members with an overview of scams related to members of a pension scheme transferring their benefits to another scheme and being subject to high unauthorised payment charges. Members noted some examples of scams, and that XPS staff attended annual refresher training on pension scams and the processes in place to address suspicious activity.

A12/22 Risk Register – The Chairman noted that the action was marked to be closed.

A3/23 Member Tracing – In regard to the action, the representative from XPS explained that they had not received a response from the scheme member who was believed to be overseas. The Chairman asked that XPS continue with their efforts to contact the scheme member.

A5/23 Longest Delay – The representative from XPS confirmed that the longest delay was 55 days however the case had been incorrectly logged due to an administrative oversight and was not a normal occurrence. The Chairman asked that data on the longest delay be included in future reports from XPS.

A6/23 Age Discrimination– In regard to McCloud Age discrimination legislation, the Chairman noted that orders had recently been laid before parliament and asked that Members were briefed on any issues within the next few weeks following the meeting.

A7/23 – Annual Benefits Statements - Officers explained that they were hopeful that the information would be available by the end of July 2023.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.

The Board to note the Action and Recommendation Tracker.

Witnesses:

Sally Wilson, Scheme Manger

Carrie Pearce, Pensions Project Officer

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman introduced the Action and Recommendation Tracker. No comments were raised.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

None.

Resolved:

The Board noted the Actions and Recommendations Tracker.