Vicky Jenks (Pensions Admin Delivery Lead) informed the Committee that the I-Connect project was completed with 179 employers and 16,909 employees on the system. Five employers were not on the system yet due to changes in their payroll providers and one struggling with the I-Connect system. Support was being provided with this. Vicky Jenks thanked the pension, payroll, and ICT teams for their help with the I-Connect roll out.  

10 out of 14 KPIs (key performance indicators) were being achieved and the four not achieved were being addressed. Due to the additional work created by the annual benefit statements project some KPIs were missed. Resources have been moved around to clear any work building up. 

I-Connect has reduced the number of breaches due to a better engagement and escalation policy with fund employers. 

The McLoud Project (age discrimination remedy) is progressing and further information regarding changes to the local government pension scheme is expected towards the end of the year.  

Further legislation regarding exit payments is also expected towards the end of the year. 

Annual benefit statements have been produced during the summer; however, 189 statements were not produced at the time of the meeting due to employers needing to correct data submitted. However, 99% of statements were sent out on time. Due to the small number not sent out, this was not deemed of material significance and will not need to be reported to the Pensions Regulator. 

There was one stage 1 appeal under the internal dispute’s resolution procedure (IDRP), but this was not upheld.  

The Chair praised the progress on the I-Connect system and the benefits of it. Vicky Jenks stated that they were consulting with the software supplier of I-Connect to initiate member self-service and allow people to view their pension records, update their personal details and run their own estimates.  

Resolved:

Staff and Pensions Committee note and comment on this report.