The Pensions Fund Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss the governance and compliance of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund, as well as the fund's administration and performance. Also on the agenda was the Administering Authority Discretions Policy, and a Pension Dashboard update.

Pension Dashboards and Data Matching Policy

The committee were scheduled to discuss a Pension Dashboard update and a draft data matching policy.

The government has formalised intentions to deliver pension dashboards through the Pension Schemes Act 2021, and the Pension Dashboards Regulations 2022. Pension dashboards will allow individuals to access their active and deferred pensions information online, securely, and mostly in one place, to support better retirement planning. The Northamptonshire Pension Fund must connect to the Pensions Dashboards infrastructure by 31 October 2025 and be able to respond to find requests from the public by 31 October 2026.

A draft Pensions Dashboard Programme – Data Matching Policy 2025 sets out the options for the Pensions Dashboards matching criteria and the approach that the Northamptonshire Pension Fund has taken and the reasons for this as required by the Pension Dashboards Regulations.

To achieve a full match and an instant return of value data, scheme members must provide their core data of surname, date of birth and at least the first eight characters of their national insurance number. If these three core data items match what is held on the Fund’s records, the individual’s accrued and estimated pension data (value data) will be returned instantly to the individual’s Dashboard. However, if the national insurance number matches but either date of birth or surname do not match, a full match can still be achieved by matching on postcode.

If an individual does not match on national insurance number, they will need to match on at least date of birth and surname plus at least two other additional data items to achieve a partial match (postcode, email address or mobile phone number). Partial matching will return a message to the individual advising they may have a pension within this Fund but they need to provide more information via the contact details supplied within 30 days.

Governance and Compliance Report

The Governance and Compliance Report provided the committee with information on issues and developments relevant to West Northamptonshire Council’s management and administration of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund.

The report included updates on:

• LGPS England and Wales
• McCloud
• Pension Dashboards
• Scheme Advisory Board (SAB)
• The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
• Wider landscape
• Skills and knowledge opportunities

The report noted that MHCLG intends to consult on changes to the regulations that cover mid-valuation cycle changes to employer contribution rates. The consultation was expected to launch after the local government elections on 1 May 2025.

The LGPC team and the Communications Working Group have worked with Affinity Connect to develop McCloud webinars for LGPS members. The webinars are aimed at active and deferred LGPS members who are protected by the McCloud remedy and would like to learn more about how they might be affected.

The report also noted that the Board Chair, Councillor Roger Phillips has written to the new Pensions Minister Torsten Bell to welcome him to his role. The letter makes three recommendations to the Minister:

• to provide clarity for the LGPS on the impact of the judgment made in the dismissed appeal of the Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Ltd case in July 2024
• to increase the limit in the Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965 to allow for more small payments to be made without the need for grant of probate or letters of administration
• to set the timetable for Phase 2 of the Pensions Review.

The Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in banking, pensions and other financial services. This inquiry aims to understand the potential benefits and risks, including its impact on employment, financial stability and consumer protection.

Administering Authority Discretions Policy

The Pension Committee were scheduled to approve the updated Administering Authority Discretions Policy. West Northamptonshire Council as administering authority to the Northamptonshire Pension Fund are required to formulate policy decisions for areas where the Local Government Pension Scheme legislation allows it the exercise of discretion.

The Pension Committee approved a comprehensive “Administering Authority Discretions Policy” in June 2022 and since this time two Officer reviews have been undertaken. In line with the policy approval schedule a full Committee review was due.

The following policy changes were being recommended as a result of the current review:

Administration Report

The Administration Report updated the Pension Committee on the administrative performance including performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and contribution monitoring, the progress made on Business Plan key activities and the budget position, the updates to the Fund’s Risk Register, and the Fund’s admissions and cessations for the reporting period.

During the period 1 January to 31 March 2025, 3 complaints were managed informally by the Operations Manager. For context, over the same period 6,405 calculation tasks were completed in connection with the Northamptonshire Fund.

During the period, 420 surveys have been issued to members with response rates varying from 6.79% to 9.43%. Scheme members have given the Fund’s administration an average rating of between 3.88 and 4.17 out of 5.00. All feedback is analysed, and changes implemented where necessary.

11 out of 21 KPI targets have not been met. The majority of KPIs were green for the final month of the reporting period, and the two ambers were within a few % of being green.

The customer journey KPIs for the reporting period are detailed in appendix A. Reporting has been developed from to analyse employer failures for providing leavers with their rights and options when leaving before retirement age. A total of 40 failures were identified across 10 employers; a failure is where either the employer or the payroll provider sent the leaver notification late.

Scheme employers have a statutory obligation to arrange for the correct deduction of employee and employer contributions and to ensure payment reaches the Pension Fund by the 19th of the month following the month of deduction. 100% of contributions were received on time for the reporting period.

There were no new cases in the reporting period relating to Internal Dispute Procedure cases. No material data breaches occurred during the period, and no significant overpayments occurred during the period.

All activities are currently green with the exception of 3 ambers. The reasons for the ambers are outlined below:

• Processing of undecided leaver records – This continues to be held at amber due to the conflicting project priorities within the Service over the short and medium-term.
• Support the build of the ACCESS FCA regulated entity - Activity being reviewed and reprofiled following Government's response to ACCESS build proposals.
• Finalise the transfer of legacy assets into the ACCESS pool - The key asset pooling proposals outlined in the consultation require the Fund to transfer legacy assets to the management of the pool. As a result of the Fit for the Future Consultation all investment activities have been postponed.

The June review introduced 3 new risks to address. Mitigations have also been updated where appropriate across the risk register.

The admission agreement has ceased for Fresh Start Catering Limited (Deanshanger Primary School). No exit payment or credit is required as the pension liabilities were retained by West Northamptonshire Council.

Following an exit credit determination, as required by, and considering the factors listed under section 64 (2ZC) of the Regulations, the Administering Authority has determined that the amount of exit credit payable to Rockingham Forest Trust is £69,000. Payment of the surplus was made on the 4 April 2025. The cessation assessment identified a funding deficit of £5,000 for Weldon Parish Council and the payment was successfully received on 28 March 2025.

Northamptonshire Pension Fund Forward Agenda Plan

The committee were also scheduled to review the Northamptonshire Pension Fund Committee Forward Agenda Plan.