Issued: 29 April 2005
Good administration is at the heart of a well run pension scheme. Indeed the success of a scheme rests so much on the quality and reliability of the administration. And The Pensions Trust has demonstrated excellence in this field in collecting this year's Pension Scheme Administrator of the Year at the UK Pension Awards.
Chief executive Richard Stroud says he was thrilled to receive the award as it underlines all the hard work that his employees have carried out over the last 12 months.
He says: "I believe we have won this award after a huge effort from all our staff and huge improvements over the last few years. We have been monitoring improvements internally and we can see there have been improvements month on month and this is external recognition of these achievements.
"In no short measure we have won this award because our staff have worked their hearts out."
The Pensions Trust provides high quality occupational pensions to over 110,000 employee members in the UK charitable and not-for-profit sectors. Its 4,000 employer members range from large charities including household names, like Oxfam and Christian Aid, via the social housing, education and voluntary sectors, to the very smallest charities and not-for-profit organisations.
It administers all types of pension scheme - defined benefit, defined contribution and its award winning Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme for single and groups of employers. Total employee membership figures rose by 9% and, during 2004, new employers joined at the rate of one every working day.
Continuous improvement is the hallmark of The Pensions Trust. This was evidenced by its successes in its service delivery, cost management, good governance, talking to its customers and listening to its customers.
Service Delivery
It is by making changes at the point of service delivery that The Pensions Trust really makes a difference. Over 2004 it designed and implemented a brand new case management system to revolutionise the way it manages the flow of work. Also, The Pensions Trust improved its information gathering and auditing systems and processes, ensuring that the data used is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. In addition, it developed its administration systems to improve functionality and speed up the calculation process.
Stroud says: "Our greatest strength is that we see things from the customers’ point of view. I get phone calls from our clients asking us to change bank details and I don’t say 'sorry I am chief executive' and pass them on to somebody else, I will take the details down. We are available to our customers on all levels."
In 12 months, achievement of the trustee's targets for member servicing has improved from around 78% to 99%. The level of dissatisfied customers has fallen to just two per 1,000 cases completed.
Cost Management
The Pensions Trust constantly monitors its procedures to identify ways to increase efficiency. The resulting reductions in its administration costs are passed on to its employer members, meaning that more of their income goes towards good causes.
Over 2004 The Pensions Trust implemented internet calculators, allowing members to calculate DB and DC benefit projections online, and an automated data audit function across all its systems. It also introduced Employer Administration Guides to aid the flow of information between The Pensions Trust and its clients. In addition it made significant improvements in the quality of electronically-supplied data, reducing data queries with employers.
As a result of the above measures, the unit cost per member of its services fell in absolute terms by almost 6% in 2004.
Good Governance
The Pensions Trust's comprehensive service covers investment, actuarial, documentation, legal and consultation service as well as administration. During 2004, The Pensions Trust instigated a number of organisation-wide projects to ensure that it maintains its excellent standards of governance.
In particular, The Pensions Trust instigated detailed project plans to ensure that the preparations for legislative changes are made well ahead of schedule. It also developed its risk management procedures to manage its resources and those of its customers, according to best practice.
Talking to Customers
Over 2004, The Pensions Trust re-branded its annual report and magazines and produced an audio and large print version of its popular report and accounts for sight impaired members. It has provided over 200 new entrant presentations and pension clinics for clients and their employees as part of its service offering.
The Pensions Trust has also established Nationwide Employer Forums for its largest industry wide schemes to spread the pensions message. Finally it expanded its Client Relationship Management team and extended its employer stewardship reporting functions.
Stroud says: "We continue to invest significant time and effort into improving communication with members and employers. Our philosophy is: 'the clearer the pensions message, the greater the value'.
"Our customer satisfaction results for employers show that we score highest on the helpfulness of staff, the quality of assistance and keeping customers informed."
Listening to Customers
The Pensions Trust places great importance on finding out how well its customers think it is performing. To this end, it sent out questionnaires to ask its employer members what it can do to help them directly improve its service. It also conducted a Customer Satisfaction Measurement Survey which covers all its customer groups, all its contract types and all the areas in which The Pensions Trust interacts with customers. Incidentally, it is the largest such survey it has ever undertaken.
Its customer survey indicates that The Pensions Trust is delivering a first class service. It receives very few complaints and achieves a fast turnaround time.
During the quarter ending the end of December 2004, The Pensions Trust had eight complaints compared to 17,047 pieces of work processed. That is a rate of 0.47 complaints per 1,000 items of work.
Stroud says: "We know what we’re doing well and where our next improvements should come from - because our customers have told us!"
Client Endorsement
Speaking on behalf of The British Red Cross Money Purchase Plan, head of UK personnel Rosanna Moses says: "We are very happy with The Pensions Trust. They have now been in place since 1999 when we first set up the arrangement for all our staff following the closure of our final salary pension scheme. The service is one which allows flexibility both in terms of the investment options available and in the amount that is contributed to the scheme.
"They are excellent in terms of communication. They keep our staff, the members, up to date in terms of annual statements. We have regular meetings with them in which we talk about the performance of the scheme and any membership issues. They are particularly good at listening and then following up with action.
"Above all, its charges are relatively low compared with its peers so we really are getting value for money. All in all it is a scheme that we would recommend to others."
Conclusion
In all areas of work, The Pensions Trust relies heavily on the excellence of its staff. And it is its staff which have made winning this year’s award possible.
Stroud says to celebrate its achievement it will hold two parties, one in Leeds and one in Edinburgh. He says: "The parties are a big thank you from the management to the staff. We are so pleased in winning this award.
"We take great pride in being the leading provider of pensions administration for the not-for-profit sector and expect even more growth in 2005 as our achievements become even more widely recognised."
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