The Newham Pensions Board was scheduled to discuss an update on the Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA) Efficiency and Service Improvement Programme (ESIP), consider the latest Pension Fund performance update, and receive an update on the current status of the administration of the Newham Pension Fund.

Efficiency and Service Improvement Programme (ESIP) Update

The board was scheduled to be provided with an update on the LPPA Efficiency and Service Improvement Programme (ESIP), including details on the three key areas of focus: Monthly Returns, Automation, and Portal enhancements.

The report says that,

Automation is improving the member experience - As an example, since July, where we hold a valid e-mail address, [deferred members] can instantly access their deferred retirement quote once they have contacted LPPA compared with a manual SLA of 5 working days. Leaver Form Project. New project mobilised Aug 24 for all items relating to our Leaver Process. This will support data quality being captured from all employers and increases the volume of cases running through automation. It will simplify the leaver form and make them easier to complete.

The report pack also contained details of the McCloud remedy, and improvements that had been made to the retirement journey for members.

Pensions Administration Update

The Board was scheduled to receive a report on the current status of the Administration and Legislative update of the Newham Pension Fund (Pension Administration and Legislative Update Board Feb-25). The report pack contained information on a range of topics including the McCloud remedy, an update on the progress of the Pensions Dashboard and the potential impact of the recent consultation on the mergers of Local Government Pension Schemes.

Pension Administration Performance Update

The board was scheduled to be provided with the latest performance report from LPPA (Administration Performance Update Feb-25). The report contains a summary of performance over the last quarter, including:

• Casework performance.
• Helpdesk performance.
• Customer satisfaction.
• The quality of the data that was being provided to LPPA.

Risk Register Update

The Board was scheduled to be updated on the Risk Register for the Newham Pension Fund (Risk Register Board Report Feb-25). The report pack contained a detailed breakdown of the 23 risks that the board had previously identified that could have a detrimental impact on the fund.

The report pack contains the following summary of the six categories of risk,

Risk 1 - Risk of inability to Manage/Govern the Pension Fund and Associated Services. Risk 2 - Risk of Inaccurate three yearly actuarial valuation Risk 3 - Risk of Reduction to Cash Flow and funding within the Pension Fund Risk 4 - Risk of Failure to comply with Legislative requirements Risk 5 - Risk of negative impact of poor Investment Decisions, Leading to Financial and Reputation issues Risk 6 - Risk of Fund systems or Investments compromised by Fraud

The report pack also contains details of the actions that were being taken to mitigate each of these risks.

Employer Update Report

The board was scheduled to receive a report on the current positions of New Employers' admission into the fund (Employer Update Report Feb-25). The report pack included details of two new admissions that had recently been approved by Conrad Hall¹.