Agenda item

The Board has previously requested to be kept updated on progress relating to a number of key administration projects and planned improvements which may have an impact on members of the pension fund and the purpose of this report is to provide an update on the current status and progress against any specific target dates.

Witnesses:

Neil Mason, Assistant Director, LGPS Senior Officer

Tom Lewis, Head of Service Delivery

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Head of Service Delivery introduced the report and highlighted the following key points:

a.    The performance levels in the period had achieved an overall score of 92%, an increase of 7% on the previous quarter.

b.    The team continued to exceed the expected target for cases such as transfers, refunds, deferred benefits and issuing the acknowledgement of members who have passed away.

c.     Performance improved in key areas that had been below expected levels in the last quarter. Retirement and ill health cases had both met and exceeded targets in this quarter.

d.    The improvement in performance across all case types validated the decision to reorganise the team earlier this summer. This involved merging the Immediate and Future Benefit Teams into two blended Benefit Teams.

e.    In September, all targets were achieved or exceeded, with everything marked green on the annexes on page 101. Looking ahead, October also saw all targets met, marking two consecutive months of success. November appeared to be following the same positive trend, indicating the desired consistency in team performance.

2.    A Member of the Board congratulated the team for their ongoing performance improvements.

3.    A Board Member raised concerns about diminishing returns in efficiency improvements. The Head of Service Delivery acknowledged the challenge of achieving further efficiency gains beyond a certain point due to human limitations and highlighted the benefits of using digital tools. Moving forward, the focus was on improving systems and processes to help the team reach the next level of efficiency, while maintaining consistent performance. Further to this, the LGPS Senior Officer stressed the importance of deeply understanding customer needs and ensuring that the organisation was effectively meeting them.

4.    The Chair noted that, given the size of the membership, the number of complaints was relatively small and there appeared to be no consistent patterns, indicating that these were isolated incidents arising from the administration of the pension scheme.

5.    Members noted that work had progressed with the legacy case reduction. The completion progress as of 30 September 2024 stood at 86%, as noted in the report, and stood at 93% by the time of the meeting.

6.    Members noted details related to the Overseas Pensioner Check as outlined in the report.

7.    A Board Member agreed with a previous discussion point on diminishing returns in efficiency improvements, stating that while the team was in the amber and red zones, focusing on KPIs might not be productive at this stage. However, they suggested reviewing internal performance standards to see how they compare with industry standards. Further to this, officers stated that the company, CEM Benchmarking, was being used not only for investment purposes but also for administration, communications, and digital services. This was the second year officers had used the report, and the Head of Service Delivery stated that he planned to review it to assess where the Fund stood in comparison to its peers.

8.    Cllr Jeremy Webster updated the Board on his recent visit to the pension team, expressing admiration for the work he observed. He suggested holding a future meeting at Dakota to give the Board an opportunity to observe the team’s work. The Chair agreed to explore this option for a future meeting.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

A6/24 - The Chairman to explore the possibility of holding a future Board meeting at Dakota House to provide the Board with an opportunity to observe the Pension Team's work.

Recommendations:

The Board noted the report.