Introduction
The City and County of Swansea Pension Fund endeavours to provide a high quality and consistent service to our customers in the most efficient and effective manner possible, particularly in an ever-changing pensions environment.
There are 5 distinct groups with whom the fund needs to communicate.
- 1. Scheme Members
- 2. Prospective Scheme Members
- 3. Scheme Employers
- 4. Other Bodies
- 5. Fund Staff
The City and County of Swansea Pension Fund aims to use the most appropriate communication method for the audiences receiving the information. This may involve using more than one method of communication as considered appropriate. All print and electronic communications are designed with consideration for those with additional needs. A phone contact number (01792 636655) is available for anyone having trouble in understanding any of the Fund’s documents.
The Policy document has been prepared, as required, by Regulation 106B of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997 and sets out the mechanisms, which are used to meet those communication needs and is subject to periodic review.
SCHEME MEMBERS
Scheme members include current contributors, those with a deferred benefit and those receiving a pension.
The Fund aims to communicate with members electronically where an email address has been provided or through the My Pension Online portal. Members who wish to opt out of electronic communication can do so in writing at any time and will receive hardcopy correspondence by post.
Annual Report and Accounts
A copy of the Fund’s Annual Report and Accounts is available to all scheme members on request and can be accessed on our website.
Newsletter
To satisfy disclosure requirements the Fund will issue a newsletter to active and deferred Scheme members of the fund on an ad hoc basis, which will cover current pension topics within the LGPS and pensions industry in general.
An annual newsletter is sent to all pensioners, which includes information on the annual pensions increase, the payment dates of the monthly pension for the forthcoming year and other matters of interest.
Annual Benefit Statements
An Annual Benefit Statement, showing the current and prospective value of members’ final salary and Career Average Re-Valued Earnings (CARE) benefits will be available online via the Member self-service facility. If a member has elected to ‘opt out’ from receiving e-coms notifications a hardcopy of the Annual Benefit Statement will be sent directly (this will be to the address held for the member as at time of print) to all members who are contributing to the Fund at the previous financial year end.
For members who have a deferred benefit with the Fund, the annual benefit statements providing the up-rated value of benefits, will be available to view online via My Pension Online. If the member has elected to ‘opt out’ from receiving e-coms notifications a hardcopy annual benefit statement will be sent directly to the home address where a current address is known.
Pension Savings Statements
Provides members with a summary of their pension savings and must be provided by 6 October each year to those members who have breached the annual allowance limit or are close to breaching.
Scheme Literature
An extensive range of Scheme literature is produced by the Fund including an employee’s guide to the LGPS, which is signposted to all active members upon joining the scheme and to other active members upon request. The guides are updated annually to reflect any changes to the Scheme Regulations and is available on our website.
Further literature concerning specific provisions within the LGPS and is available online at www.swanseapensionfund.org.uk, upon request or as appropriate when communicating with members. A list of current communication material is listed in Appendix 1.
Correspondence
The Fund utilises surface mail, e-mail, and My Pension Online to receive and send communications. Correspondence is available in an individual’s preferred language.
Payment Advice/P60
Pensioners will only be issued with a payment advice slip from the Pension Payroll Section if there is a £10.00 net pay change from the previous month. P60 notifications, which provide a breakdown of the annual amounts paid, are available annually by 31 May.
Employee Surgeries/Presentations
Upon request, surgeries are available for individual Scheme members or groups along with standard or tailored presentations to be held at employer venues. Member roadshows confirming regulatory changes will be arranged by the Fund in association with the member’s employer. Training sessions on the effective use of of My Pension Online and understanding Annual Benefit Statements are periodically held via Microsoft Teams.
Pre-Retirement Courses
Pre-retirement courses are scheduled by the member’s employer however, upon request the Pension Fund Communication Officer is available to attend to address any questions that members who are nearing retirement might have regarding the procedures and entitlements.
Existence Validation – Life Certificate Exercise
In conjunction with the DWP the Fund engages in an on-going National Fraud Initiative exercise based on risk assessment to establish the continued existence of pensioners in receipt of monthly pension payments.
Upon return of a BACS pension payment or notification of a death of a pensioner member by a third party, a life certificate will be issued to the members last known address.
Overseas Pensioners
The Fund engages with a third party who specialises in oversees money transfers to undertake an annual continued eligibility exercise to ensure the qualification of continued pension payments to pensioners living overseas.
Website
Extensive information about the LGPS along with Scheme literature, policies and forms are available to view and download from the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund website (www.swansea.pensionfund.org.uk) for all stakeholders. The website is a prime source of information on the pension scheme, including scheme literature and policies to ensure timely, up-to-date, and easy to access information.
The My Pension Online link is available on the website and members are encouraged to sign-up. Benefit Statements and other correspondence are available through this secure online portal.
General Communications
A published telephone number along with general email addresses and full postal address is listed on all correspondence issued.
A national member website, offering additional information is available at https://lgpsmember.org/
PROSPECTIVE SCHEME MEMBERS
Scheme Leaflet
In accordance with the Disclosure Regulations, prospective Scheme members are signposted to a Short Scheme Guide. The information contained provides an overview of LGPS benefits from day one of membership.
Promotional Leaflet
The Fund has a promotional leaflet ‘The Local Government Pension Scheme – Saving for Retirement’. The leaflet is included with joiner packs issued by the employer when the employee commences employment. The leaflet provides information to non-members of the benefits of being a member of the scheme.
Corporate Induction Courses
Corporate Induction Courses are available to employees by their employer; any LGPS queries that a member might have can be presented either by emailing pensions@swansea.gov.uk or phoning 01792 636655. A response will follow in due course.
Trade Unions
The Fund will work with the relevant Trade Unions to ensure all interested parties understand the Scheme. Training days for branch officers will be provided upon request, and efforts will be made to ensure that all pension related issues are communicated effectively with the Trade Unions.
Website
The Fund’s website will contain a specific section for prospective joiners or optants out, highlighting the benefits of planning for retirement and what the Scheme provides to allow the member to make an informed choice.
SCHEME EMPLOYERS
The Fund communicates with its participating employers in several ways to help them meet their responsibilities as Scheme employers.
Annual Report and Accounts
The audited accounts of the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund are prepared as of 31 March each year and a copy is distributed to each participating employer.
Employer Meetings
The Fund will hold an annual consultative meeting to discuss the Funds’ Annual Report and Accounts. The meeting will also be used to communicate major strategic issues and significant legislation changes as well as triennial valuation matters.
Actuarial Valuation meetings follow the undertaking of the triennial valuation and issue of the report to understand their individual funding position.
Periodic meetings will be held to discuss specific issues as they arise.
An annual administrative meeting for employers is also held, usually in February.
Pension Administration Strategy
A Pension Administration Strategy has been published, in accordance with the Scheme Regulations, to define the responsibilities of both the Fund and all Scheme employers in the administration of the Scheme.
The Strategy sets out the level of performance expected from the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund and all employers, as well as the consequence of not meeting statutory deadlines.
Employer’s guide
An Employer’s Guide has been issued to assist the employers in discharging their pension administration responsibilities. This is supported by the dedicated Training & Communication Officer, who will provide assistance in administrative matters whenever necessary.
Updates
Regulatory and administrative updates are frequently issued to all employers via email and followed up with Teams meetings where required.
Training
Bespoke sessions can be delivered on request, by the dedicated Training & Communication Officer to resolve any administrative issues identified by the employer. The fund will provide refresher training on topics as required.
Website
The Fund Website has a dedicated employer area to provide employers with the guidance needed to effectively discharge their administrative responsibilities and includes updates as well as forms and notes of guidance, which can be downloaded.
OTHER BODIES
All Wales Pensions Officer’s Group
Pensions Officers from all the Welsh administering authorities meet regularly to share information and ensure uniform interpretation of the LGPS and other prevailing regulations.
Wales Pension Partnership Group
The Fund works continuously to collaborate with other Welsh Pension Funds to evaluate specific partnership arrangements, particularly within the All Wales Pension Funds Communication Working Group.
Trade Unions
Trade Unions in Southwest Wales are valuable ambassadors for the Pension Scheme. They ensure that details of the Local Government Pension Scheme’s availability are brought to their members’ attention and assist in negotiation under TUPE transfers to ensure, whenever possible, continued access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Seminars/Webinars
Fund Officers regularly participate at seminars and conferences held by LGPS related bodies.
National Information Forum
These meetings, which are attended by representatives from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Local Government Pensions Committee (LGPC), provide an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest and share best practice.
Pension Fund Committee
The Pension Fund Committee is notified of any changes in legislation, practices within the Section and investment issues as and when these occur. Meetings take place on a quarterly basis.
FUND STAFF
There is a responsibility on all staff to ensure effective communication at all levels across the service.
Induction
All new members of staff undergo an induction programme. A periodic appraisal programme is also exercised to review and monitor employee performance and development.
Training and Support
The Fund seeks to continually improve the capacity of staff to communicate effectively and to understand the importance of high-quality communication.
Both general and pension specific training is provided in-house, by the dedicated Training and Communications Officer and by specialists, where applicable, as part of the Fund’s commitment to continual improvement as well as encouraged to obtain the professional qualification of pension administration and management.
Fund Meetings
Section and Team meetings are held on a regular basis. Items arising from such meetings are escalated through to Senior Managers and Chief Officers. Due to the change to home working staff meetings will be held via Microsoft Teams.
Internet
The Staff are enabled to use the corporate network to access the internet and e-mail facility and communicate with each other and other departments through Microsoft Teams.
E-mails
Staff can be contacted via their personal Swansea Council email address or via the Fund’s central mailbox pensions@swansea.gov.uk
The Local Government Pension Committee
National Website: www.lgps.org.uk
Whilst the website is intended primarily as a means of external communication, access is helpful to staff.
Seminars/Webinars
Fund Officers regularly attend seminars and conferences held by associated bodies to obtain regulatory information and to further their knowledge and understanding.
This information is later cascaded to all staff so that service delivery is improved.
Data Protection
To protect any personal information held on computer, the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund, as administered by Swansea Council (the Administering Authority), has adhered to the data protection principles in accord with the Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act (DPA) came into effect on 25 May 2018 and was amended on 01 January 2021 by regulations under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The Updated Act reflects the UK’s status outside of the EU and sits alongside and supplements the UK GDPR. The Act makes provision about the processing of member data personal data, with the key aim of giving greater protection and rights to individuals. Please refer to the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund website www.swanseapensionfund.org.uk to view the Funds Privacy Notice. The notice is designed to give you information about the data we hold about you, how we use it, your rights in relation to it and the safeguards that are in place to protect it.
Staff members receive online training in Data Protection every two years.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The City and County of Swansea Pension Fund complies with the above Act and subsequent policy adopted by Swansea Council and provides public access to information held by the Fund.
National Fraud Initiative (NFI)
This authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use information for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies administering public funds solely for these purposes.
General
While this Policy Statement outlines the communication approaches adopted by the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund, there are roles and responsibilities, which fall on Scheme members and participating Scheme Employers in ensuring that information necessary to maintain an accurate membership base is provided in a timely manner.
Policy Review
This statement will be revised if there is any material change in the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund’s Communication Policy but will be reviewed no less frequently than an annual basis.
LGPS National Insurance Database
The City and County of Swansea Pension Fund participates in the LGPS National Insurance (NI) Database (‘the database’). The database has been developed in order that LGPS Administering Authorities can share data to prevent the duplicate payment of death grants. This follows changes to Scheme Regulations by virtue of which a deceased member with multiple periods of LGPS membership will in most cases only have one death grant payable.
Fund Publications – publication frequency & review periods
| Communication Material | When Published | When Reviewed |
| Scheme Booklet | Constantly Available | Annually |
| New Starter Pack | Constantly Available | As Required |
| Factsheets (various) | Constantly Available | As Required |
| Retirement Guide | Constantly Available | As Required |
| Newsletter | As Required | As Required |
| Pension Newsletter | Annually | Annually |
| Annual Benefit Statement | Annually | Annually |
| Employer’s Guide | Constantly Available | Annually |
| Pension Administration Strategy | Constantly Available | Annually |
| Customer Charter | Constantly Available | Annually |
| Annual Report & Accounts | Annually | Annually |
| Valuation Report | Tri-Annually | Tri-Annually |
| Funding Strategy Statement | Tri-Annually | As Required |
Key Risks
The key risks to the delivery of this Strategy are outlined below. Fund officers will work with the Pensions Committee and Pension Board in monitoring these and other key risks and consider how to respond to them.
- Significant external factors, such as national change, impacting on workload.
- Lack or reduction of skilled resources due to difficulty retaining and recruiting staff members.
- Inadequate performance of software against service standards
- Increase in the number of employing bodies causes strain on day-to-day delivery.
- Incorrect calculation of members’ benefits, resulting in inaccurate costs
- Employer’s failure to provide accurate and timely information resulting in incomplete and inaccurate records. This leads to incorrect valuation results and incorrect benefit payment.
- Issues in production of annual benefits statements, e.g., wrong address and printing errors due to external supplier
- Failure to administer the scheme in line with regulations. This may relate to delays in enhancement to software or regulation guidance.
- Failure to maintain records adequately resulting in inaccurate data.
- Unable to deliver an efficient service to pension members due to system unavailability or failure.
Feedback
The fund welcomes comments and feedback form scheme members, scheme employers, prospective members, and other interested parties.
The fund surveys members and employers annually and publishes results of the survey in the Annual Report. Comments provided are considered and changes are made where feasible.
Consultation
The fund consults with stakeholders where new policies or changes to policies are required.
Reviewed 16/05/2024
