Agenda item

Paper attached.

CONSIDERED paper summarising current pension matters both locally and nationally which required input from the Service. In particular, the paper addressed:

Governance & Strategy

This document was currently being prepared for publication on the Pensions webpage.

Pension Projects

(a).  2015 Remedy (Sargeant)

In light of letters received from both the Treasury (HMT) and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC), the Service had determined (and communicated to scheme members) to pause processing immediate detriment cases, primarily due to legal uncertainty over whether or not Section 61 of the Equalities Act provided a lawful basis for calculating and processing taxation implications associated with effecting a remedy. The HMT and HMRC positions on this would continue to be closely monitored and it was understood that the LGA was currently seeking further legal advice in relation to the HMT response.

Additionally, the FBU had invited its members to register with the union all immediate detriment cases to enable claims to be registered through the courts.

MP commented that the Service remained active in seeking to ensure appropriate communications were issued to scheme members as to their possible options, particularly for those members nearing retirement.

(b).  Matthews/O’Brien Judgement

In March 2022 a Memorandum of Understanding had been agreed between the government, the FBU, the Fire & Rescue Services Association and FRA employers.

The regulations to implement the second options exercise in England would be drafted by the Home Office and consulted on before being laid before Parliament. The Home Office would have a maximum period of 18 months to draft, consult, and introduce the necessary secondary legislation. The LGA was now actively working with Fire Authorities to identify those who would be in scope. The deadline for FRAs to submit initial data regarding those ‘in scope’ had been extended to 30 June 2022. FRAs would be expected to start the second options exercise as soon as possible after the legislation comes into force – expected in the latter part of 2023. The LGA had published a Summary Factsheet on this.

Reporting Breaches of Law

There had been no breaches to report since last meeting.

Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)

There had been no new complaints under the Procedure since the last Board meeting.

Pension Administrator Quality of Service

The Service continues to have a good working relationship with WYPF with both parties collaborating and periodically reviewing the arrangements in place to identify potential improvements that could be made.

Key Performance Indicators

For 11 out of the last 12 months, the Service had achieved the KPI for submission of monthly pension reporting to WYPF by the last day of the month.

It had been discovered, however, that monthly data being submitted to WYPF in Q3 and Q4 of FY21-22 was not being processed and that new members were not being assigned with a membership record within the agreed timeframe. This issue was being addressed and the Service was seeking further assurance from WYPF that this will not have a knock-on effect with the production of benefit statements for this year.

During the period since the last report, the Pay & Conditions team had continued to submit notifications of normal retirement to WYPF within the SLA of 5-days of receipt. Since the last report, there had been 2 retirements and in both instances the paperwork was submitted within the 6-week SLA.

The Pensions Officer was currently seeking to develop a “Pensions Dashboard) and was reviewing potential data categories and relevant sources to use. Examples of data could include opt-out rates; demographics of membership categories; and scheme types (age, gender, etc). When developed, the Dashboard would provide a central reference point not only for the LPB but also to inform workforce planning discussions within the Service going forward.

Board Membership

The recruitment process for a new Scheme Member representative had concluded with FF Webb (Middlemoor) appointed to the Board from 1 June 2022.

(See also Minutes LPB/22/15 and LPB/22/19 above)