Agenda item

To note the XPS Surrey Fire & Rescue Authority Pension Board report.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Paul Mudd, XPS

Sally Wilson, Head Of Data, Digital & Special Projects

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The representative from XPS introduced the report and made the following points:

a.    That 81% of Key Performance Indictor (KPI) work had been met in November 2021

b.    That 97% of KPI work had been met in December 2021

c.     That the XPS team had been engaged with a training plan and that they were expected to complete 97% - 100% of work going forward.

d.    Provided an update the Immediate detriment framework as noted in the report.

e.    That XPS were in the process of obtaining costs to undertake address tracing.

f.      In regard Action A8/21, it was confirmed that the outstanding inherited tasks were almost complete.

g.    Confirmed that XPS were investigating systems that could provide a “live” view of calls waiting and available team members which should help reduce missed calls further.

h.    That the report included member self-service statistics for the first time and provided a brief overview.

i.      Provided an overview of the common data as noted in the report.

2.    In regard to Member self-service, a member of the Board stated that it would be helpful for the employee representatives on the Board to raise awareness of the benefits of the self-service portal.

3.    A member highlighted that they had contacted XPS regarding the purchase of additional pension but had not yet received a response. The XPS representative explained that the contact should have been logged in the workflow system and included within the KPI data. The Chairman requested that XPS follow up on the contact.

4.    The Board noted that there was no option for active members of the scheme to receive paper copies of pension statements. Non-active members could still receive a paper copy if needed. 

5.    The Board held a discussion on immediate detriment payments where it was noted that XPS were currently unable to provide full information to members of the scheme as the legislation was not in place to do so and that they were still awaiting answers on technical questions.

6.    The Board noted that there may be a charge when a member of the scheme requested over three formal estimates however this would be avoided where possible.

7.    In regard to Action A8/21, the Chairman agreed to close the action provided that the Board were supplied with detail on the process in place to track the completion of outstanding inherited tasks. The XPS representative agreed to provide evidence and detail on the tracking activity to allow the Board to have a full understanding of the process in place.

8.    Furthermore, in regards to the completed cases overview, the Chairman requested that simple data be included in future reports which covered any backlog each month. The Chairman stated that this data would allow the Board to have oversight of any backlog build up. The XPS representative stated that he believed the information was available to provide.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

1.    In regard to Action A8/21, the Chairman agreed to close the action provided that the Board were supplied with detail on the process in place to track the completion of outstanding inherited tasks.

2.    The Chairman requested that simple data be included in future update reports which covered any completed cases backlog each month.

Recommendations:

The Board noted the report.