Agenda item

To be presented by Sam Price, Assistant Pensions Administration Manager, Buckinghamshire Council.

S Price Assistant Pensions Administration Manager, Buckinghamshire Council, referred to the report circulated with the agenda.

The following points were highlighted to the Board:

·    The annual report provided a comparison against measures including; staffing, scheme membership, costs & workload. The report covered the year 2021-22 and the previous two years.

·    There had been an increase in staffing from 43.1 FTE to 49.1 FTE. In anticipation of McCloud going live in October 2023, one senior pension officer post and three pension officer posts were added in 2021.

·    There were a total six posts added to the structure in 2021 including a one year fixed term member liaison officer post to cover maternity leave. This post would be removed from the structure next year.

·    The two vacant posts from the end of last year had been recruited and there were currently no vacant posts in the team.

·    The report included a breakdown on salary bandings and experience in the team structure. There were 10.8 FTE posts with less than one-year experience. Salaries were in line with LGPS nationally and were based on experience.

·    Scheme membership increased year on year and the staff to fund member ratio was 1 to 1780. In 2018-19 the ratio was 1 to 2062.

·    There had been a consistent increase in costs due to an increase in staffing costs.

·    Buckinghamshire Pension Fund were previously part of the CIPFA benchmarking which provided a comparison of costs and performance with other funds. This benchmarking process was limited due to inconsistencies with the process of funds submitting data. CIPFA had conducted a review of the process and it was hoped the team could participate in the benchmarking scheme in the near future.

The Chairman asked if there was an optimum number of staff to scheme members. It was confirmed there was currently no target level and officers would discuss a target level.

A member asked if the increased cost of Heywood software provider was due to McCloud. It was advised there was a contract extension with Heywood as the

contract was due to expire in March, the extension did incur additional costs.

A member queried if five days’ sickness absence per full time post was a normal level. It was highlighted there was previously a few members of staff on long term sick leave however, sickness absence had reduced over the years and wasn’t considered a concern.

There was a discussion relating to scheme membership and an increase in frozen refunds. It was explained there had been an increase in new cases where employees had left their entitlement and it was difficult to make contact. Where a scheme member left with less than 2 years total membership they are not entitled to a deferred benefits but due a refund instead. This was an increase from 3 months as a result of Regulation changes in 2014 meaning there has since been a growth in the number of refund entitlements.  Refund are expected to be paid out in five years. Scheme members were issued with a claim form however, in many cases there were no current addresses for the members, and many didn’t realise they were entitled to a refund. It was noted the pensions dashboard would be useful in highlighting member’s pensions rights and could encourage them to claim lost pensions.

The Chairman queried the process if scheme members claimed a refund after the five-year limit. It was advised some refunds were outstanding from 1980s/1990s and the member would receive the refund with interest accrued in line with scheme regulations.

A member of the Board queried if there were more people opting out of the pension scheme due to the cost of living crisis. It was advised there did not appear to be a trend for more members opting out however, this could be monitored going forward. Furthermore, there had not been an increase in members opting for the 50/50 scheme to reduce pension contributions in times of hardship.

Action: S Price to provide opt out and 50/50 scheme statistics at each Board

meeting.

It was noted the employer newsletter could include wording to advise members of the 50/50 option to discourage opt outs.