Agenda item

For members of the Board to receive a report on the Key Performance Indicators for the administration of the Croydon Council Local Government Pension Scheme for the period from 1 June to the end of August 2020.

The item was introduced by the Head of HR & Finance Service Centre. It was explained to the meeting that the report covered a challenging period for the administration team. This included having to develop new ways of working as a result of the pandemic, processing a large amount of data provided by scheme employers at the start of the financial year, and an increased number of requests for estimates due to the headcount reduction being conducted by Croydon Council.

Whilst performance had been good on retirements and deaths, this had been affected by annual leave and sickness. However, of the outstanding cases, 59% related to the historic backlog of deferred cases. It was planned to address the historic backlog through a specialist provider. The procurement process was ongoing with agreement being awaited to progress. 

Vacancies in the team were being addressed. A Senior Pensions Officer role had been filled through internal redeployment and a Pensions Office role had been filled in May 2020. Work was being undertaken to address the two remaining vacancies for a Senior Pensions and Pensions Support Officer.

The Board was informed that 97.8% of annual benefits statements had been issued before the deadline on 31 August 2020. It was being explored why those outstanding had not been picked up by the system. As off the end of Quarter 2, 26.49% (1,006) of scheme members had used the self-service facility to view their annual benefit statements online. The Independent Chair confirmed that whilst the performance did not amount to a breach, it should be acknowledged on the log.

Members of the Board explored a number of issues arising from the report.

In response to a question regarding what might be done to address the quantity of starters and leavers, the Pension Manager confirmed that monthly schedules were received. Those that were missing would be picked-up at the end of the year and addressed with employers. It was explored whether the iConnect system could be beneficial. It was acknowledged that this was used by one of the larger academy trusts but it was known this took a lot of time to set-up.

The Head of HR and Finance Service Centre clarified that the procurement of an external provider to assist in addressing the historic backlog of cases was in the standstill period having reached the preferred bidder stage.  It was anticipated the procurement would start to progress again towards the end of October 2020. In response to concern that the backlog of cases was increasing, the Pension Manager explained there had been a higher volume of leavers than usual. These were to be addressed through a number of focused days where the team would focus on processing the backlog.

Reassurance was provided to the Board regarding recruitment to the remaining vacant posts. Approval to progress with recruitment had been gained following going through the staff redeployment process which had resulted in one post being filled.

The Independent Chair thanked officers for their honest report which showed some drift in lower priority KPIs. Endorsement was expressed for recruitment to vacant posts and procurement to provide additional resource.

The Head of HR and Finance Service Centre explained that the exit payment reforms resulting from the McCloud judgement would have an impact on the administration team. It was planned to recruit to vacant posts and then to review resourcing in early 2021 taking into consideration the new requirements.

RESOLVED: The Board AGREED to note the report.