i-Connect
We have and will continue to see in the near future a rapid and significant increase in the number and type of different fund employers.
At the same time there are more complex demands on accurate and regular data updates as a result of the new career average scheme and increasing scrutiny on the accuracy of data by the pensions regulator. As a result we have taken the decision that all employers should submit monthly member data through a data portal known as i-Connect.
i-Connect is part of Heywood group who provide the pensions administration system 'Altair' currently used by the fund to administer the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Costs
From the point the majority of employers are using i-Connect, for any non-participating employers, there will be an administrative charge for the resources needed to administer active members of the Fund outside of the i-Connect process.
This cost is likely to be in the range £1,932.00 pa to £32,908.00 pa, depending upon the number of members involved.
5 steps to using i-Connect
Employers will be required to progress through the 5 main stages involved in the i-Connect implementation journey. Before embarking on the journey, employers should consider the timescale and resource required for completing each stage as it will not be possible to progress to the next stage until the current stage has been completed.
The main stages are as follows:
Contact with SPF
Telephone or email details so that the Technical team can provide the correct specification documents and templates required.
Payroll extract
Liaise with your payroll provider to produce a csv payroll extract in line with the I-Connect specification document.
Please note: you will not be able to proceed to the next stage until a working test extract has been received.
Send extract to SPF
Once SPF receive payroll extract we can perform necessary validation and formatting checks to ensure any potential errors are highlighted back to you.
Please note: this process is repeated and you will not be able to proceed to the next stage until the extract contains no errors.
Member match records and create links
We will create links between the data submitted and records held in Altair. Records are matched using 5 primary fields:
- National Insurance number
- Payroll reference
- Surname
- Date of birth
- Gender
Go live
We will provide any necessary online or on-site training. We will also create roles for employers to transmit their own data.
At this stage it may be necessary to liaise with you over any matching queries that arise. It may be possible for us to assist with the completion of this stage.
Product information
See the information leaflets on the i-Connect system:
i-Connect requires employers to provide a payroll .csv extract file every month to be uploaded to the i-Connect data portal. The technical specification for this file is provided below.
Multiple employer payroll site
We recommend this file is used as it allows for the future addition of new payrolls:
Staffordshire Pension Fund will require data to be submitted in the fields identified in the following file layout:
Single employer payroll site
Staffordshire Pension Fund will require data to be submitted in the fields identified in the following file layout:
Clarification on data that should be captured for each relevant field can be found in the Local Government Association (LGA) payroll guide below.
Payroll Software currently used by our employers to submit i-Connect files
| Payroll Software | Type of submission |
|---|
| Midland HR I-Trent |
Payroll extract CSV |
| SAP |
Payroll extract CSV |
| Origin |
MPP Payroll extract CSV |
| Mitrefinch Flexipay |
MPP Payroll extract CSV |
If you use any of this payroll software, we will be happy to put you in touch with another employer within the Fund who uses it as well.
Frequently asked questions
The link below provides access to a list of frequently asked questions together with our responses, raised by employers/payroll providers in relation to the i-Connect 'on-boarding' process.