Meeting documents

Pension Fund Committee
Friday, 20 February 2004

PF200204-16

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ITEM PF16

BEST VALUE COMMITTEE – 14 JANUARY 2004

OXFORDSHIRE PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATION

BEST VALUE REVIEW – IMPLEMENTATION REPORT

Report by Head of Finance

Introduction

  1. A report was submitted to the Committee on 15 January 2003 which detailed the areas reviewed as part of Best Value and the ten specific actions arising from these. These are shown at Annex 1 (download as .rtf file).

  2. One of the ten specific actions was to agree and implement a development plan over a two-year period from April 2002. The plan was agreed but implementation of the proposed developments did not start until just prior to the cessation of the contract with Liberata and the relocation of the Pensions Services team into County Hall.

    3. The Past Year

  3. One of the major changes was the relocation of the Pensions Services team from Liberata to County Hall at the end of March 2003. This was a smooth transition and the benefits of having the pension team in-house rather than at arms length have been significant. During the first months there were several (not unexpected) resignations, which put additional pressure upon the team and workload. Additionally some large training issues were identified resulting in work allocation being reorganised and resources diverted to address the most urgent training needs.

  4. To facilitate the move into the office accommodation available we brought forward the plans for document imaging of the 30,000+ pension records. The team started indexing, boxing and shipping out the files in March for the images to be scanned and returned to us on cd for loading onto our system. Some initial delays in getting the cds returned to us combined with the disruption of not having our files meant that backlogs built up very quickly. We have had to create temporary files and other control mechanisms to manage the work whilst the files were being scanned.

  5. We are now scanning completed documents directly onto the pension system, which is an improvement. There are now just about 1000 files waiting to be scanned and all other records are loaded onto the system and can be viewed from the desktop which is starting to make a real impact on how we work and will lead to long term efficiency.

  6. Another issue facing the team have been the consultations about and changes to pension regulations, which seem to have become an almost constant feature.

  7. The development of an automatic interface from the payroll records held in SAP to update the pension records has been much slower and more problematic than envisaged. Further work will be needed to get the amendment and hour changes interfaces working and, at present ITNet are developing a report to provide the information required for monthly leavers. Until these interfaces are finally tested and signed off no work is being done to develop interfaces for other large employers.

  8. Fire service manual pension records for current and deferred members are now loaded onto the pension system. Additionally we have agreed a new pricing structure for the administration work from April 2004.

  9. We are responding more quickly to complaints and recording and monitoring our actions, although there is some fine adjustment needed.

    10. The Coming Year

  10. A fund valuation is due at April 2004 and whilst this is a standard triennial exercise there is a significant amount of work to be done. Changes such as mergers and transfers of staff from employers has and is having a significant impact on our getting the information we need ahead of the valuation.

  11. From our development plan the next step for us is the introduction of Task Management, a module within the pension system that provides automated workflow measurement. This requires us to breakdown every task into single processes that are given a completion time before being programmed into the pension system. From this initial setup we will then be able to discuss service standards with scheme employers.

  12. Other outstanding best value action points to complete during the next year are:

    • Improving levels of communication and the quality of our information to scheme members.

    • Improving the timeliness of lump sum payments to all recently retired scheme members.

    • To extend the training for employing body HR staff.

    • To review the charges for administration of teachers’ pensions.

    • Annual benefit statements.

Conclusions

  1. This has been a challenging, but successful year. The team have responded positively to the changes made and contributed in a positive way. Of necessity we have had to alter our timetable to accommodate changes along the way, but I am confident that we will be able to meet all Best Value deadlines of December 2004.

    2. RECOMMENDATION

  2. The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. agree if and when there is a need to report back to the Committee on further progress;

          2. identify whether there are any matters in the report which should be drawn to the attention of the Executive Member; and

          3. ask the Chair of the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee to consult the Deputy Chair on scrutiny committee consideration.

 

CHRIS GRAY
Head of Finance

Background Papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Sally Fox, Pensions Service Manager Tel: 01865 816080

6 January 2004

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