Agenda item

Report of the Director of People Services.

(Agenda Item 4 on the Agenda Pack)

4.1      The Board received an update on the general pension administration issues the fund has experienced following the move from Surrey to Hampshire Pension Services (HPS) on the 8 November 2021.  The Chairman welcomed Andrew Lowe (Manager of the Hampshire Pension Service) to the meeting.

4.2      The Board heard that working with Hampshire Pension Service (HPS) had been a positive experience to date and that officers would be holding monthly partnership meetings with HPS to address any issues.  The Board noted that these meetings would continue until officers were satisfied that the service was meeting Westminster’s expectations.

4.3      The Board was pleased that the Key Performance Indicators had been met 100% of the time in each category in November and December 2021 and that the Pension Committee had agreed a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) Contract with Mercer to progress the data work needed to improve Westminster’s data scores through targeted measures.

4.4      The Board received an update on the McCloud Project and heard that all employers had been asked to submit data by the end of January 2022.  The Board was reminded that Westminster had to retrieve data from three previous HR systems, including one from City West Homes, and that these systems would continue to be licenced to retrieve historical data and confirm when people had left the Pension Scheme.

4.5.     Andrew Lowe (HPS)who confirmed that all files, whatever their size, had now been successfully transferred and stored within Hampshire Pension Service (HPS).  The Board discussed with Andrew how Hampshire would start sorting out some of the ‘chunkier’ pieces of data work so Westminster would see an increase in their data scores.  The Board noted that data cleansing and data quality improvement would form part of Hampshire’s daily ongoing (BAU) activity.  Andrew confirmed that the small companies would also form part of the McCloud work, however he advised that the reality was that not everyone would hold the required information and assumptions and decisions would need to be made at the appropriate time.

4.6      Andrew advised that Westminster and Hampshire had formed a positive relationship over the past year and that ‘going live’ on the 8 November had been successful.  He confirmed that all payrolls had run smoothly. He explained that Hampshire would be in regular contact with Westminster regarding their performance.  He emphasised that Hampshire had a good track record of delivering an excellent service for their clients. The Board noted that Hampshire would start doing some of the data cleansing work in terms of address tracing which would help improve Westminster’s data scores over the course of next year.  Andrew then explained how the McCloud Project would be a big piece of work, taking up to two years, especially as currently there was no legislation in place to allow pension schemes to rectify issues.  He concluded by advising that Hampshire was very much looking forward to working with and providing a good quality Pension Scheme for Westminster.

4.7      The Chairman thanked Andrew for his perspective on the transition of the Pension Scheme to Hampshire Pension Service and for giving up his evening to attend the meeting. He said that the Board looked forward to a long and successful relationship with Hampshire.

4.8      RESOLVED: That the Board noted the report and looked forward to a successful working relationship with Hampshire Pension Service.