The Surrey Local Pension Board met to discuss a range of issues relating to the management and administration of the Surrey Pension Fund. Discussions included updates on the fund's performance, risk management, administration strategy, and compliance with regulations. The board also reviewed the draft annual report and received updates on key projects such as the McCloud remedy and the pensions dashboard.

Glossary, Actions Tracker and Forward Programme of Work

The board reviewed the Glossary, Actions Tracker and Forward Programme of Work, monitoring progress on actions from previous meetings and noting changes to the forward programme. Actions completed included:

• The Pensions Team looking at processes and operations for employers and employees as a result of the Consumer Insights project.
• The committee asking the board to review the CEM benchmarking report to consider service improvements.
• Adding a standing item to the board agenda on local government reorganisation.
• Explaining how underinvestment in technology and talent shortages impacts technical debt.
• Providing instructions on how to access SharePoint to board members.
• Clarifying in the risk register that no decision on the future form of the pension fund has been decided within local government reorganisation.

Surrey Pension Team Overview

The board reviewed the Surrey Pension Team Overview for quarter one, which provided a macro-level view of the service, including updates on the triennial valuation, change management, external audit plan, McCloud remedy, and local government reorganisation. Key points included:

• Internal Audit completed the audit for the death administration process, which received a substantial assurance rating.
• Contribution receipts totalled £60 million and benefits paid totalled £66 million in quarter one.
• Legacy reduction in accounting and governance was 82%, with outstanding items to be cleared in the financial year 2024/25.
• The fund's value fell over three months due to a volatile geopolitical environment, but marginally outperformed its benchmark.
• Performance remained strong, with overall KPI scores in service delivery at 95%.
• Legacy case work was now complete.

Neil Mason, Director of Pensions, LGPS Senior Officer, noted that the team was not one for celebrating success too early, but thought it worth noting that they had their first substantial audit for administration.

The board also discussed the change management team update, highlighting that 14 members of the Surrey Pension Team had been nominated for the 2025 Professional Pensions Women in Pensions Awards, with four going through to the shortlist.

Draft Annual Report of the Local Pension Board

The board reviewed and approved the draft annual report of the Local Pension Board for 2024/25, which summarises the board's activities during the year. The report will be incorporated into the Pension Fund Annual Report in due course.

Service Delivery Overview

The board reviewed the service delivery overview, which provided updates on key administration projects and planned improvements. Key points included:

• Overall performance was at 95%, consistent with the previous quarter.
• There was a slight dip in performance in processing retirements, survivor benefits and death grants due to case allocation issues.
• There was continued uptake of online retirements, with 292 retirement quotes carried out and 256 processed into payment.
• The Customer Relationship Team managed 11,233 enquiries, resolving 93% at the initial point of contact.
• The GMP reconciliation project had made significant progress, with 376 pensioners having had an adjustment made in the March payroll.
• McCloud remediation had moved into the live system, with training delivered for all benefits administration staff.
• The team was preparing for the pensions dashboard connection deadline of October 2025.

Siobhan Kennedy, Member Representative, asked about the volume of queries that the team receives and if they do any analysis to see if there's any way they can get that information to the members.

The board also discussed the review of the draft pensions admin strategy, which aims to increase employer engagement and understanding of their duties, and to support employers in allocating sufficient resources to meet the requirements of scheme administration. The main changes to the strategy include updating it to reference monthly data collection, setting an expected standard for the return of monthly data, setting an expected payment date for contributions, updating the charging structure, and removing outdated charges.

Risk Register Update

The board reviewed the risk register update for quarter one, which considered changes made to the risk register for the Surrey Pension Team. The top four risks identified were:

• Impact of devolution/local government reorganisation
• Impact of 'Fit for the Future' LGPS review on the fund
• Investment returns impacted by market volatility/performance
• Unit 4/MySurrey issues

The board noted that the risks, apart from the one that had come down a bit, were the same as they were before because they remain with us to be dealt with.

Surrey Pension Fund Internal Audit Progress Report

The board reviewed the Surrey Pension Fund Internal Audit Progress Report for quarter one, which informed the board of the work completed by Internal Audit and provided an update on any high priority actions due for implementation. The audit of Pension Fund Deaths Administration received 'Substantial Assurance'.

LGPS - Background Report

The board reviewed the LGPS background report, which considered recent developments in the Local Government Pension Scheme. The report highlighted the government's response to the Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales): Fit for the future consultation, MHCLG's consultation on access and fairness in the LGPS, and expectations if administering authority's choose to utilise a discretion to not include the McCloud remedy in member's annual benefit statements this year.

Sandy, the technical expert of the Surrey Pension Team, gave a bit of flavour of the impact that the changes may have. She noted that for equalising survivor benefits, historically widowers have not necessarily had an equal survival benefit payable in comparison to a widow, so it's going to be looking back and equalising those, which will go back over a period of time. She also noted that there will be historical work looking at historic cases.

Siobhan Kennedy, Member Representative, asked how the fund was going to protect themselves and potential fraud, because obviously Neil heard me, so we're okay.