1. Introduction
1.1 The Northern Ireland Local Government
Officers' Superannuation Committee is a statutory body established by the Local
Government (Superannuation) Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 to: -
· administer a pension scheme for local authorities and
admitted bodies
· to manage and maintain a fund out of which the benefits
of the scheme are met.
1.2 The
Committee is appointed by the Department of the Environment, which makes
statutory regulations setting out the constitution, and powers of the Committee
and the rules governing the pension scheme and the management of the Fund.
1.3 The current regulations are the Local
Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 as amended which
came into operation on 1 February 2003.
2. The Corporate Plan
2.1 The rolling Corporate Plan covers the
three-year period from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011.
2.2 Its main
purpose is to:-
· state the Vision and Mission of NILGOSC
· state the aims of the Committee
· set out the key objectives of the Committee
· provide an administrative budget
· state the Committee's values and service standards.
2.3 The Plan
will be reviewed and revised annually. Progress in meeting the objectives will
be reported quarterly to the Management Committee and Department of the
Environment and in the Annual Report and Financial Statements.
2.4 The Plan
has been formulated by the Committee taking into account the views of management
and staff and understanding external factors such as government policy and
stakeholder needs. Each Team within NILGOSC undertakes a number of Operational
Activities. These are shown in Annex C. These activities fulfil NILGOSC's
Business Objectives which in turn are designed to satisfy the Corporate Aims.
Annex C shows the relationship between Corporate Aims, Business Objectives and
Operational Activities in a table format.
2.5 The plan
for the three years to 2010/11 is driven by the Committee’s desire to provide a
level of service suitable for the stakeholders of today. In doing so the
Committee aims to comply with government policy for public sector bodies and
pension schemes.
2.6 NILGOSC
faces a number of challenges as regards investment and pension scheme
administration in 2008/9.
2.7 The Committee will continue to monitor its
investment managers and take appropriate action if managers fail to meet the
targets set by the Committee. The Committee have awarded four unconstrained
equity mandates with a view to outperforming the index. These mandates will
come into operation in 08/09. The Committee will also be enhancing its
monitoring of its fund managers using a balanced scorecard approach in the same
period.
2.8 Pension Scheme administration will also be
a challenge as the Committee will have to implement changes to the regulations
already made in England & Wales but yet to be made in Northern Ireland. In
addition the Department for Communities and Local Government have issued
regulations for a new LGPS scheme from April 2008. Again the Committee will
have to take necessary steps to be able to administer this Scheme for Northern
Ireland once the regulations are made by the Department of the Environment. All
of these changes are on top of the changes to the Northern Ireland public
sector brought about by the Review of Public Administration.
3. Vision
3.1 The
Committee’s vision is
“To
be an excellent Public Sector provider of pensions through service quality and
investment performance.”
4. Mission Statement
4.1 The
Committee’s mission statement is
“To
administer and manage the NILGOSC Scheme efficiently and effectively while
continuously seeking to enhance the quality of service provided to all
stakeholders”.
4.2 NILGOSC has adopted a number of business
practices designed to facilitate the achievement of its mission. These are: -
§ The review and monitoring of key performance indicators
and the taking of appropriate action.
§ The annual review of NILGOSC’s business needs and the
potential benefits offered by advances and innovation in the available
technologies to provide IT solutions.
§ The focus on best practice, compliance with legislation,
and prioritising areas for improvement.
§ The maintenance of proactive human resource policies,
which ensure fairness, sensitivity and equality in dealing with staff.
§ The enhancement of team spirit and associated working
practices by promoting a culture that encourages participation, consultation
and communication.
5. Review of the Annual Corporate Plan 2007/8
5.1 In 2007/8 a significant proportion of last
year’s annual plan was completed (see Annex A) although some project completion
deadlines have been extended into future periods. Those objectives not achieved
have been carried forward to this year’s corporate plan.
6. Aims and Key Objectives for 2008/9 to 2010/11
6.1 Aim
1: To provide a level of service needed
to comply with the pension scheme regulations, good practice, other legislation
and stakeholder expectations.
6.1.1 Objectives
·
To pay member's
pension benefits, refunds and transfers promptly
·
To credit pension
contributions and transfers received promptly and accurately
·
To provide members
with information needed to make pension decisions promptly
·
To ensure that all
necessary action is taken on any change to scheme rules
·
To ensure that
systems and procedures comply with new or recent legislation
·
To ensure NILGOSC attracts and
retains well trained personnel.
6.2 Aim 2: To maintain an effective investment strategy in line with the
actuarial profile of the fund.
6.2.1 Objectives
·
To value the scheme
assets and liabilities and set contribution rates accordingly
·
To invest scheme
funds in accordance with the Statement of Investment Principles
·
To adopt
good practice in Public Sector pension fund management.
6.3 Aim
3: To promote the scheme and inform
members and employers of their pension options.
6.3.1 Objectives
·
To provide general scheme information to scheme employers,
their employees, members and pensioners
·
To provide members and employers with specific details of
Regulation changes
·
To provide advice on the pensions implication of
other changes such as public sector reorganisation.
·
To update address information of those members who
have not informed NILGOSC of address changes
6.4 Aim
4: To influence the future of the
Local Government Pension Scheme
6.4.1 Objectives
·
To respond to
consultation on changes to the LGPS and contribute to consultee groups.
6.5 Aim
5: To undertake business in an
efficient and accountable manner as required of a public body.
6.5.1 Objectives
·
To maintain corporate
governance arrangements appropriate for a public body
·
To introduce IT and
other system developments in order to improve efficiency.
6.6 Aim
6: To be committed to the need to
promote equality of opportunity, the desirability of promoting good relations
and the fulfillment of its Section 75 obligations.
6.6.1 Objectives
·
To undertake Equality
Impact Assessments on existing and new policies
·
To ensure
NILGOSC personnel policies promote equality of opportunity.
7. Service Standards, Values and Targets
7.1 Values
In
carrying out its aims and objectives the Committee is committed to: -
- providing
an efficient and high standard of service, which is equitable, sensitive and
fair for all its stakeholders.
- paying
benefits promptly and accurately in accordance with the regulations.
- maintaining
accurate and up to date records.
- being
responsive to the requirements of its stakeholders.
and
- making every effort to address problems quickly and
honestly.
7.2 Service Standards
1. Retirements
To pay any
lump sum due on the day following retirement or within five working days of the
receipt of the relevant details whichever is the later.
To notify
the pensioner of the pension payable within five working days of the receipt of
the relevant details.
2. Deaths
To pay the death grant and notify any dependants of
the pension within five working days of the receipt of the relevant proof of
title.
3. Early
Leavers
To provide a statement of benefit options within twenty
working days of notification.
4. Refunds
To pay within ten working days of receiving a valid
application.
5. Transfers
Out
To provide
an estimate of the cash equivalent within twenty working days of request and receipt of relevant details.
To pay the
cash equivalent within ten working days of receiving authority.
6. Transfers
In
To provide
an estimate of pensionable service to be credited to the member within ten
working days of receipt of relevant details.
To provide
confirmation within twenty working days of receiving the transfer payment.
7. Benefit
Quotations
To provide individual requests within ten days.
8. New
Entrants
To process new entrants forms within twenty working
days of receipt.
9. Correspondence
To reply to correspondence and communication within
ten working days.
10. Annual
Report
Issued by 30 November each year.
11. Pension
Benefit Statements
Issued to all members and preserved members within
two months of receipt of valid annual membership data.
12. Payment of Monthly Pensions
All pensions to be paid by the last banking day
each month.
13. P60s issued to Pensioners
P60s to be issued by 31 May each year
7.3
Other Targets
Investment Managers Returns
|
Manager |
Asset Type |
Target |
|
Legal & General |
Passive Equity |
Various Indices |
|
Wellington |
Global Equity |
Index +2% |
|
Alliance Bernstein |
Global Equity |
Index +2% |
|
Baillie Gifford |
UK Equity |
Index +2% |
|
Baillie Gifford |
Global Unconstrained |
Index + 3% |
|
Wellington |
Global Unconstrained |
Index + 3% |
|
Jupiter Asset Management |
UK Unconstrained |
Index + 3% |
|
Manager |
Asset Type |
Target |
|
Blackrock |
UK Unconstrained |
Index + 3% |
|
Aberdeen |
Bonds |
Index + 0.75% |
|
LaSalle |
Property |
Index +1% |
8. Freedom of Information
The
Committee believes that information about our plans, activities and services
should be accessible to members of the public.
The aim is to be open, transparent and proactive in our information
provision, embracing the ethos of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and
responding to requests for information courteously and promptly, offering
advice and assistance where necessary.
9 Costs of the Corporate Plan
9.1 The
corporate plan for 2008/9 has been costed (at current prices) and is shown in
Annex B.
Annex A
REVIEW OF ANNUAL CORPORATE
PLAN 2007/2008
1. To provide a level of service needed to comply with the
pension scheme regulations, good practice, other legislation and stakeholder
expectations
|
Business Objective |
Operational Action |
Progress |
|
1.1 To pay member's pension benefits, refunds and
transfers promptly |
1.1.1 To pay monthly pensions promptly and
accurately |
Achieved every month with the exception of June
when the BACS payment sent on 28th June did not reach bank
accounts until either 30 June or 2 July. |
|
1.1.2 To pay pension lump sums and grants
promptly and accurately |
82% of payments were paid within 6 days |
|
|
1.1.3 To pay refunds of contributions promptly
and accurately |
118 refunds were made taking
an average of 4.25 days and 97% were paid within 10 days. |
|
|
1.1.4 To pay transfer payments promptly and
accurately |
141
payments were made, 94% of which were paid within 10 working days. |
|