Focus December 2024

Downloadable version

A downloadable version of this newsletter is available below.

 

Fund’s Draft Annual Report and Accounts 2023-2024  

The Fund is required to publish its Annual Report by 1 December each year which includes information on:  

  • the management and financial performance of the Fund, 

  • investment policy and investment performance, 

  • the administration arrangements during the year, 

  • a statement by the actuary on the level of funding of the scheme, 

  • a governance compliance statement, 

  • a net asset statement and fund account for each fund, and 

  • other appropriate material.   

A full copy of the draft Annual Report is available here 

 

Contract/position changes within your organisation  

Over the past couple of months, we have received several enquiries from Scheme members with regards to a notification letter from the Fund informing them they have left the pension scheme despite them remaining in active employment with their employer. This appears to be a timing issue where Pension Services are being sent separately, a leaver form for the former contract/position and an appointment form for new employment, which is actioned later.  

Where an employee is changing roles within your organisation, you can notify the Fund by completing an amendment form (PEN AMD 1) detailing the contract change e.g. change in title of post, pay reference number, weekly contractual hours, contribution band or rate of pay.  

The amendment form can be downloaded from the employer section of the website. 

Please note: the forms and documents area of the website requires a username and password to access. If you have forgotten your login details, or if you don't currently have access to this area but need to do so as part of your responsibilities, then please contact: pensions.employers@staffordshire.gov.uk  

If your payroll provider is using i-Connect to report monthly employee payroll data to the Fund, there is no need to complete the amendment form as the starter/leaver information will come through to us automatically and we will arrange for pension accounts to be aggregated, where appropriate.  

 

Staff transfer guidance  

On 26 November 2024, the Government Actuary’s Department published the following guidance:  

  • Staff Transfers guidance: aims to help employers of public service pension scheme members who are being transferred within public sector roles.  

  • Staff transfers from private to public service pension schemes: aims to help contracting authorities involved in staff transfers to understand the required steps when former public service staff with pension protection are required to move from a private sector broadly comparable scheme back to the public service pension scheme they were in originally. 

 

Feedback on LGPS informer document  

In the June 2024 edition of the Employer Focus Newsletter, we reported that the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) had launched an LGPS informer document to explain the timeline and information flow for the triennial valuation and accounting and audit purposes.  

Following publication, both the SAB and ICAEW welcome any feedback from 

scheme employers and their auditors about:   

  • how the informer has been used and by whom. 

  • whether the document is useful and meets its intended aim. If not, why not? 

  • what could be improved and whether there are further areas or topics which could be explored in an update to this document or via a new publication.  

If you wish to provide feedback on the document, please email sabsecretariat@local.gov.uk

 

Christmas message to our employers   

This year has once again been very demanding and challenging for all of us here at the Staffordshire Pension Fund. However, with your continued support, we met the expectations of our pension scheme members, implemented the McCloud remedy, and continued to comply with the regulatory requirements of administering the Local Government Pension Scheme.  

Therefore, once again we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work that you do and for your support. With a strong partnership between the Fund and our Scheme employers, we are confident that we will continue to meet the new pension challenges and complexities that we will no doubt encounter in 2025.  

So, as we enter this festive period, we would like to pass on our best wishes to you and your families for a very Merry Christmas and happy and healthy 2025.

From everyone at the Staffordshire Pension Fund 

 

Circulating the Newsletter within your organisation

We would be grateful if you could continue to circulate this Newsletter to appropriate staff in your organisation for example, Human Resources, Payroll and Finance Department or alternatively provide us with their email address, so we can add them to our distribution list.

If you require any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to email the Fund at pensions.comms@staffordshire.gov.uk 

 

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