The Board discussed the Actions and Recommendations Tracker. It was noted the Annual Benefit Statements had been completed and uploaded to members online records in March 2024, but that this was after the 31 August 2023 deadline. Officers confirmed the Pensions Regulator guidelines for this type of internal breech had been followed.

Matthews – Retained Scheme – On-Call Access

The Board discussed an update on the Matthews – Retained Scheme – On-Call Access project. The deadline for completion of this project is March 2025. It was noted that only 11 statements had been issued to scheme members so far, out of an expected 60. The Board requested more information from officers about the implications of missing the deadline, both for the SFRS and for pension scheme members.

The Government published their response to the consultation document, in September 2023, and the legislation came into force on 1 October 2023.

The Board also discussed how the project had been impacted by issues arising from the implementation of Unit 4, Surrey Council's new payroll system.

The Board discussed the progress on the McCloud - Age Discrimination Remedy for firefighters' pensions.

XPS - SURREY FIRE & RESCUE AUTHORITY PENSION BOARD REPORT

The Board considered a report from XPS, the administrators of the Surrey Firefighters' Pension Scheme. The report contained information about a number of subjects, including data security, recent complaints received from members of the scheme and an analysis of completed cases.

XPS has received a high level of contact from members in the post Remedy period particularly around the time it has taken for them to receive retirement options forms and estimates of benefits.

A member of the Board stated that they were aware of several members of the scheme who had not received their pension forecast figures on time.

A Member of the Board stated that he was aware of members of the pension scheme who had not received their pension forecast figures on time and further stated that members of the scheme were frustrated with the lack of information.

The Board asked XPS to investigate.

The Board asked XPS for more detail about the types of cases that were included in the ‘general’ category in their report.

It was agreed that XPS and Surrey Council's Pension Team should work more closely together in order to better understand each others' processes.