The Board noted the Surrey Pension Team Overview - Quarter 4 and the Change Programme Update - Quarter 4. They also noted the Administration Performance Report and Update - 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024, the Internal Audit Progress Report - Quarter 4, the Internal Audit Strategy and Annual Plan 2024/25, the External Audit Update and the LGPS Update. They noted the Glossary, Action Tracker & Forward Plan and the Summary of the Pension Fund Committee meeting of 22 March 2024, but made no recommendations to the Pension Fund Committee on either. The Board noted both the Business Continuity Plan-Progress Update and the Update on Cyber Security. Finally, the Board noted the Risk Register Update 2023/24 Quarter 4, but recommended that the Pension Fund Committee review the risk score and mitigation for risk 16, which relates to the ongoing implementation of the MySurrey system.

MySurrey

The Board heard an update on the implementation of the MySurrey system.

Neil Mason, the LGPS Senior Officer¹, reported that the Chairs of the Board and Committee had met with the MySurrey project team and that there was more confidence on the issues being addressed.

Tom Lewis, the Head of Service Delivery, explained that the flow of data from Surrey County Council's payroll into the pension system had been disrupted, saying:

from an employer data perspective, the flow of data coming across from Surrey has been minimal or the frequency has been late

He explained that this lack of data had made it impossible to produce up to date pension calculations, and had impacted other key areas of the pension system. The Board heard that new starter details, leaver information and other key data had not been entered into the pension system for a significant amount of time, meaning that pension calculations had been based on old and potentially inaccurate information.

Mr Lewis explained that the team were still awaiting long-term resolution of leaver notification processes, and reported that the lack of information had made it difficult to process retirement applications and other requests. He told the Board that a workaround had been implemented whereby the Service Delivery team would calculate pensions using the latest data we hold where possible while waiting for the correct information to be provided, but said that if the situation was not rectified in the next month there would be an issue with delivering the Annual Benefit Statements.

Reporting Surrey County Council to the Pensions Regulator

The Board discussed the possibility of reporting Surrey County Council to the Pensions Regulator for their failure to provide data to the pension fund.

Mr Mason told the Board that the risk of the Council's failure to provide data was being treated as an amber risk, but that if it escalated further the Breaches Policy would be followed, which would involve consulting with senior officers and then making a recommendation to the Board and the Pension Fund Committee.

Councillor Tim Evans, the Chair of the Board, told the meeting that he would be meeting with relevant stakeholders, including the Chair of the Pension Fund Committee, in the next week, and would share a note on the meeting with the Board. It was agreed that the Board would monitor the issue closely.

Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) reconciliation

The Board heard an update on the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) reconciliation project, which is a project to ensure that all members of the LGPS are receiving the correct amount of GMP.

Mr Lewis told the Board that progress on the GMP reconciliation had been slow due to the same members of staff working on that and the McCloud project. He explained that the third party provider, Aptia, were working with the team to ensure that the project meets expectations.

Other business

• The Board were told that the new member website had been launched in January and that members were satisfied with the communications they were receiving from the pension fund.
• It was noted that the Surrey Pension Team had been shortlisted for a number of industry awards.
• It was reported that a recent staff survey showed positive results in relation to staff satisfaction, with the Board hearing that work was being undertaken on the second year of the two-year strategic plan for the Surrey Pension Team.
• The Head of Change Management told the Board that work was being done to enable members with external email addresses to access the dashboard for the Surrey Pension Team.
• The Board heard that the customer relations team are resolving 87% of queries at the initial point of contact, but that they anticipate that call volumes will increase in the next quarter due to the issuing of the Annual Benefit Statements.
• A member of the Board requested that information about staff vacancy rates be included in the Surrey Pension Team Overview report.
• The Board were told that the projects team were currently managing 17 projects, which was deemed unsustainable, and that work was being done to improve capacity by upskilling other team members.
• The Board approved a proposal to trial a two-day residential training course for members of the Board and the Pension Fund Committee.
• The Board were told that the implementation of iConnect, the online system for submitting monthly contribution data, was continuing, with 72 employers having been onboarded. The Board heard that 114 more employers are expected to be onboarded by the end of the financial year, taking the total number of employers submitting monthly data to 186, representing 70% of active members. A further 104 employers are expected to go live on the system in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.
• The Board heard that the legacy case reduction programme was progressing well, with 63% of cases completed.
• The Board heard an update on the McCloud project, with the meeting being told that the administration software has now been upgraded in the test environment. It was reported that the software will be tested in May and June, and then moved into the live environment at the end of June. The Board were told that work continues on cleansing the data provided by employers, with the final data expected from ITM at the end of April.
• The Board were told that work is ongoing to develop a Surrey pension specific business continuity plan, and that a further update will be given in July.
• The Board heard that a mandatory training session on cyber security had been delivered to all members of the Surrey Pension Team.
• The Board were told that the external audit of the 2022/23 financial statements had been completed, and that the audited accounts have been incorporated into the Annual Report, which is now available on the Pension Fund website. The Board were told that the auditor for the 2023/24 financial statements will be Ernst & Young.
• The LGPS Senior Officer told the Board that there continued to be considerable interest from central government regarding the LGPS, and particularly the progress of pooling.
• The Board passed a vote of thanks to Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance, who was leaving the Pension Fund.