Agenda item

This paper sets out a summary of the performance of the Local Pension Partnership Administration (LPPA) in providing a pension administration service to the Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund.

John Crowhurst (LPPA) gave a presentation on the quarterly administration report (1^st April – 30^th June 2024) and performance update for Q2 2024/25. It was noted that key processes of caseworks had exceeded 95% target for two quarters consistently, indicating that LPPA was in a much better position than they were 12 months ago. Employer engagement for monthly returns as the level of engagement with    LBHF employers was good. LPPA noted that response rates for the retirement surveys were low and shared that dissatisfaction from LGPS fund members typically came from delays, which was directly correlated with the timeliness of notification of retirement.

Michael Adam (Co-opted Member) thanked LPPA and Officers for their work and the resulting improved performance over the last 12 months. He enquired about the extent to which the improvement had been fully integrated and how vulnerable it might be to falling short in the future. John Crowhurst (LPPA) responded that employer performance was key to the process and that LPPA was in a much more stable position than it was a year ago with regard to retained experienced employees as the retention rate had dropped to 14%. There were potential risks if they received spikes in areas of work, however LPPA felt they were resilient enough to manage this.

The Chair asked whether taking on new fund clients would increase LPPA’s workload and requested that the Committee be informed in advance of any anticipated spikes. Jo Darbyshire (LPPA) assured the Committee that clear processes were in place to manage any disruption when onboarding new clients with priority given to existing ones. She also confirmed in such a scenario relaxed SLA’s would come into play for the new client for at least 12 months.

Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier expressed hope for a brighter future of the pension fund administration and asked how the customer satisfaction surveys were distributed. John Crowhurst (LPPA) noted that they were distributed in an email via Survey Monkey to those they had email address for. He asked a follow up question, enquiring why the number of responses increased slightly. John Crowhurst (LPPA) explained that the ways of communication had not changed and there was no particular reason for the increase. Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier requested that LPPA shared how they engaged with members in future reports.

Action: LPPA

Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) remarked that it was encouraging to see LPPA continue to collaborate with the Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund, reflect on lessons learned and continued to improve the service for the Fund’s members and beneficiaries. David Hughes (Director of Audit, Fraud, Risk and Insurance) added that it was reassuring to hear the efforts LPPA had made to reduce staff turnover.

Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier asked how much time Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) and her team were spending on supporting LPPA.  Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) explained that her team was still dedicating a significant amount of time supporting and collaborating with LPPA to escalate and resolve cases. She emphasised that the LBHF pension team continued to work to maximise the best interests of the members with their support. However, she noted that improvements in automation from LPPA would be welcome to allow her team to focus on more complex cases.

Peter Parkin (Co-opted Member) highlighted that members approaching retirement reviewing their pensions could often be a stressful time for retired members and asked whether any mechanisms were in place for instances when targets were missed. John Crowhurst (LPPA) responded that at present members typically escalated such issues through the pensions team or directly to LPPA. However, he noted that LPPA was planning to introduce automated self-service options and assign case ownership for more complex situations.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang congratulated LPPA for the improvements made to date. He asked whether LPPA would consider doing target groups for gathering responses for customer satisfaction. Jo Darbyshire (LPPA) responded that they were looking at ways to increase responses, such as using incentives in the future.

Action: LPPA

Michael Adam (Co-opted Member) asked if there was any temporary support in place for those who did not receive their first pension payments. Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) explained that there were provisions in place to facilitate payments in cases of exceptional hardship. Before reaching this point officers worked closely with LPPA to manage members expectations and ensure that most payments were made within the expected timeframe.

The Chair enquired if there was a list of employers who repeatedly failed to provide basic information to LPPA. Eleanor Dennis (Head of Pensions) explained her team managed this issue and worked, with the respective payroll providers and employers to remind them of their obligations in  accordance with the pension administration strategy.

RESOLVED

That the Pension Fund Committee noted the update.