Minutes:
(Exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. It was considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information).
Ahead of the LPPA representatives joining the meeting, the Board discussed concerns over performance issues of LPPA and increased complaints about LPPA service provision from scheme members and employers. An update was provided by the officers on complaints and retirement experience since the last meeting of the Board, noting that improved performance was needed. The Director of Strategy, Change and Governance, the Director of Finance, People and Culture and the Managing Director of LPPA then joined the meeting to discuss the reports at items 15 and 16 on the agenda.
The Director of Finance, People and Culture, and the Managing Director of Local Pensions Partnership Administration Ltd (LPPA) presented an update report regarding existing performance measures for the pension administration service for review by the Board in advance of a report to the Pension Fund Committee.
· The Board discussed recruitment, training, and retention of staff at LPPA and noted that there was a competitive market for experienced pensions administration staff and LPPA had implemented measures to recruit/retain and develop staff.
· It was reported that LPPA would continue to increase automation within the pensions administration system to free up staff who could then be deployed for other activity.
· Customer satisfaction/complaints were discussed, and it was suggested that the Board be provided with more detail regarding the customer satisfaction survey process and results.
· The Board noted that end to end performance measuring would provide an improved understanding of the scheme member experience.
· It was suggested that Scheme Members should be encouraged to register for the online PensionsPoint system using personal email addresses so that they could access pensions information prior to retirement and continue to receive updates after leaving employment.
· The Board noted that further engagement with the provider was required to improve the processing of Additional Voluntary Contributions and so contribute to reducing the impact on elapsed times.
· The Head of Fund asked for regular, additional reporting from LPPA around areas such as complaints and retirements to better understand the current performance issues with LPPA and future progress/improvement.
· The work to date on Oracle Fusion and improvements to accessibility of pay information for LPPA was noted.
· The review of the current casework Service Level Agreement metric was discussed, and the Board agreed the proposed series of principles for future monitoring as set out in the report presented.
Resolved:
1. That the Head of Fund and the Managing Director of Local Pensions Partnership Administration Ltd (LPPA) collaborate to identify how best to get employers more engaged in administration processes, specifically the submission of monthly data.
2. That the Managing Director of LPPA be asked to provide the Head of Fund with a map of customer experience measurement points within the scheme member journey, including call centre interaction/touch points.
3. That the Head of Fund, in consultation with the Chair of the Pension Board and Ms Miller (the new Chair w.e.f. 1st November 2023) agree the scope and content on any reporting related to administration performance and SLAs that will be sent to the Pension Fund Committee.
4. That the Head of Fund, and the Technical Pensions Lead be requested to update the Service Level Agreement principles as set out in the report presented and discuss them further with the Managing Director of LPPA (and relevant LPPA representatives).