The Head of Pensions Administration presented a report to update the Board on the proposal to consult on changes to the Administration Strategy and the collection of contributions via direct debit.

The Administration Strategy set out what services SYPA would provide and what was expected from employers.  The Strategy was introduced in 2016 and updated in March 2018 prior to the introduction of Monthly Data Collection.

As Monthly Data Collection (MDC) had now been successfully embedded into employer processes and routines, SYPA would now like to move to the collection of monthly contributions from employers by direct debit.

The existing Administration Strategy had been updated to reflect the proposed change in process and was ready for consultation with employers.  The opportunity had been taken to update some other minor areas of the document which had become outdated.  Appendix A showed the full Strategy document with tracked changes highlighting the amendments.

The Chair commented that he was pleased that the Pension Information Surgeries were to continue in each district, albeit with reduced opening times and asked if the days and times each office was open could be circulated.

Action:  J Bailey to circulate the opening days and times of each district office to Board members.

In response to a question from S Loach, J Bailey confirmed the locations of the district offices as:

Barnsley     Gateway Plaza

Doncaster   Civic Office

Rotherham Riverside House

Sheffield     Howden House

The Board queried why the annual tax seminar, provided by an independent advisor, for members was to be discontinued.

J Bailey replied that as the externally commissioned seminar was aimed at a small cohort of high earners, the Fund was paying for something that would only be relevant for a very limited number of members; this was not considered an appropriate use of resource.  SYPA could continue to offer general information sessons around these issues and employers were also free to commission specialist support if they wished which SYPA could support with.

With regard to the advice for schools converting to academies, the second bullet point read: [schools should] "assess whether their budget will allow for the payment of employer contributions……".  N Gregory suggested the wording should be amended to read "ensure" rather than "assess" as there was no choice other than to join the LGPS.

The Board noted other amendments including updating the service standards in the Customer Charter as previously agreed by the Authority, fees for the provision of information and additional non-standard work, and the table of charges and financial penalties.

In reply to a question regarding the requirement for employers to submit their MDC file by the 5^th day of the month following the end of the payment period, J Bailey explained that this was due to the need to give 10 days’ notice for a direct debit; the statutory deadline for the payment of contributions was the 19^th of the month.  There was the potential for some flexibility if employers were willing to waive the 10 day notice period and any issues raised would be discussed with individual employers.

RESOLVED – That the Board:

(i)     Endorse the draft changes to the Administration Strategy for consultation with employers.

(ii)     Note the proposed changes in the contribution collection process and the revised timescales for receipt on the monthly data from employers.