Agenda item

This paper resets out a summary of the performance of the Local Pension Partnership Administration (LPPA) in providing a pension administration service to the Hammersmith & Fulham Fund which will be presented to the Committee by the Managing Director of LPPA.

Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) introduced the report which provided a summary of the performance of the Local Pension Partnership Administration (LPPA) in providing a pension administration service to the Council’s Pension Fund which would be presented to the Committee by the Managing Director of LPPA.

Jo Darbyshire (LPPA) provided a presentation on the performance of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) from 1^st April to 30^th June 2023 detailed in appendix 1. She also presented a summary of LPPA challenges and performance across all clients, as well as highlighting increased recruitment.

In relation to help desk calls, Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure asked if there were any specific trends stemming from when the service was at its busiest and what measures were in place to support this. In response, Jo Darbyshire noted that Monday’s and the end of the month were the busiest times for helpdesk calls. The Committee noted that weather conditions also had a bearing on the total number of calls received. Jo Darbyshire confirmed that LPPA had more resources in place to accommodate the additional calls.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked for further clarification to be provided on the 82 transfers out. Jo Darbyshire explained that the transfers out applied to people who had left their employment with the local government and no longer qualified to be part of the LGPS.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang enquired whether there had been an increase in members opting out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Jo Darbyshire said, that at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis, there was an increase in opt out and 50/50 scheme contribution enquiries, however this had stabilised over the last few months. She also outlined the process of auto enrolment, highlighting that if members chose to opt out, they would automatically be opted back into the main section of the scheme after three years.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang felt that communication with members was vital and suggested that members be encouraged to remain within the scheme and notified of the benefits, if Officers noticed an increase in the opt out rate. Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) explained that the Local Government Association (LGA) investigated the opt out rate across all LGPS Funds. The findings concluded that there wasn’t a spike in the opt out rate due to the pressures around the cost of living. It was noted that the LGA continued to monitor this matter.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang requested that the figures from the LGA investigation be shared with the Committee.

ACTION: Eleanor Dennis

Councillor Laura Janes thanked LPPA for the detailed presentation. She noted the Committee’s concerns about the lack of progress to improve service performance since the last meeting with LPPA in October 2022. Jo Darbyshire explained the delay had been caused by the time it had taken to implement and familiarise staff with the functionality of the UPM system. Other factors included the recruitment of good quality administrative staff.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang echoed Councillor Laura Janes’s concerns and enquired whether staff at LPPA were set performance targets. Jo Darbyshire explained that every administrative staff member had quantitative and qualitative targets. LPPA were closely monitoring those who were not achieving their targets and acting accordingly.

The Chair enquired if there was any scope to recruit colleagues who were familiar with the UPM system, particularly the monthly returns function to mitigate some of the recruitment concerns. In response Jo Darbyshire explained that LPPA had a short timescale to implement UPM. LPPA had a strong network of UPM users across other organisations who were able to provide useful feedback and share their accomplishments on how to improve ways of working with the system.

The Chair requested that the Committee be provided with comparison data on the total number of the LPPA staff employees by LPPA  prior to the implementation of UPM system in Jan 2022 and how many employees they had now .

ACTION: Eleanor Dennis

Peter Parkin (Co-opted Member) asked if staff were set realistic, achievable targets in line with available resources. In response, Jo Darbyshire explained that targets varied across all departments within the organisation. New employees would also have their own targets unique to them. It was noted that those staff members who were not achieving their targets consistently, would be put on a performance improvement plan.

Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure asked for further clarification to be provided on the incentives available for staff. Jo Darbyshire explained that the priority for LPPA was to drive administrators to progress cases. It was noted that LPPA moved into a new office in June 2023 which offered an improved working environment. This included new recreational and collaborative spaces for staff. In addition, LPPA provided wellbeing webinars and 2 events a year where all staff had the opportunity to collaborate.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted the update.