Mr Paul Audu, Interim Head of Pensions and Treasury stated the Annual Benefit Statements for active and deferred members of the scheme had to be produced by the 31^st August 2024. He said work was underway to meet this deadline. He referred to paragraph 3.3 onwards which set out the changes that had been applied. Referring to paragraph 3.6, he said data quality was paramount and his team was working with third party providers to ensure the information it had was correct and complete.

In response to comments and questions from members the following was noted:

·       Referring to paragraph 3.5, Mr Thompson asked if the external contractor had been procured. Mr Audu responded stating the contractor employed was the usual contractor, the Council used. He said they were aware of the requirement to meet the 31^st August deadline. Mr Audu said Fund members could view their statements online but for those who required a postal despatch these would reach the recipient by the deadline.

·       Abdulrazak Kassim, Director for Finance, Procurement, Audit and Governance referred to paragraph 3.6 and said the data cleanse exercise was underway and they would provide a briefing paper to the Board and Committee once this had completed.

o   ACTION: Discussion on how best to provide the update took place and it was AGREED Mr Kassim would speak with Mr Jones in mid-August to decide how best to disseminate the information.

The Pension Board RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the report and work being carried out by the Pension Administration Team to ensure the timely provision of the 2024 Annual Benefit Statements.

To follow.

Mr Paul Audu, Interim Head of Pensions and Treasury stated the Annual Benefit Statements for active and deferred members of the scheme had to be produced by the 31^st August 2024. He said work was underway to meet this deadline. He referred to paragraph 3.3 onwards which set out the changes that had been applied. Referring to paragraph 3.6, he said data quality was paramount and his team was working with third party providers to ensure the information it had was correct and complete.

In response to comments and questions from members the following was noted:

·       Mr Audu said he was hoping to achieve a 99% success rate in the production of the Annual Benefits Statements. He said the process outlined at paragraph 3.5 would benefit from the data cleanse.

·       In response to anomalies in data, with some pensioners over or under paid, Mr Audu said officers were working with third party providers such as Zellis and Heywood to ensure information was correct on both the payroll and pensions systems respectively. He said historical errors were being investigated to see how overpayments could be recouped and underpayments rectified.

·       In response to what contingency plans were in place, for data sharing with third parties, Mr Audu said a clear process was in place. There was a secure system in exchanging data.

The Pensions Committee RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the report and work being carried out by the Pension Administration Team to ensure the timely provision of the 2024 Annual Benefit Statements.