Report attached.

Contact: Debbie Sharp (01743) 252192

80.1  The Board received the report of the Pensions Manager – copy attached to the signed Minutes – which provided Members with the latest administration and regulatory updates affecting the Local Government Pension Scheme. 

80.2  The Pensions Manager drew attention to the McCloud update and referred Board Members to the officer response to the Consultation which was attached at Appendix A of the report.  She stated that changes to the underpin would create a lot of work as benefits would have to be recalculated from April 2022, however, this work could not be undertaken until the amended regulations had been issued.  The Pensions Manager confirmed that employers had received training and had been asked to ensure their data on hours changes and membership breaks was correct.

80.3  The Pensions Manager reported that the Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020 had come into force on the 4 November 2020 and she explained that if an exit payment exceeded £95k the member would have to take payment of an unreduced pension however the regulations prevented the employer from paying the full strain cost.  She drew attention to the legal advice obtained in relation to this conflict and confirmed that that was the stance that the Shropshire Pension Fund would be taking.  The Council’s response to the consultation on the reform of exit payments was attached at Appendix C of the report and addressed the proposals whereby certain members aged over 55 receiving statutory redundancy payments would lose the right to receive an unreduced pension where a pension strain was payable.

80.4  Looking at communications with members and employers, the Pensions Manager took Board members through the different methods used to communicate with members including its online self-service area ‘My Pensions Online’.  Other methods included the employers’ meeting, website, email bulletins and biannual newsletter.  In response to a query, the Pensions Manager confirmed that Shropshire compared favourably to other Local Authorities in terms of better than average take up of the online pension system.  In response to concerns that retired members may not be aware of what was going on, the Pensions Manager confirmed that they received two newsletters annually along with a prompt to look at their pay online.  Some had requested paper copies which had been provided.

80.5  A brief discussion ensued in relation to the effects of covid-19 on the service.  In response to a query about how members without access to technology were dealt with, the Pensions Manager confirmed that they had not had the ability to hold face to face meetings due to the covid-19 restrictions but discussions were taking place about using the Shropshire hub for those occasions once it was up and running safely.

80.6The Pensions Manager informed the meeting that a new staff member had been taken on the previous week who had experience of working from home.  Induction sessions were usually held face to face in a meeting room however this process would be changing going forward.

80.7  RESOLVED:

          That the contents of the report be noted.