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Secretary’s Scribbles Paul Robertson Police Pensions Annual Benefit Statements At the time of writing this article colleagues are still awaiting the arrival in the post of their latest Pensions Annual Benefit Statement. I’m genuinely hopeful that by the time officers read this article they will have received their Annual Benefit Statement. In fact all subscribers to the Police Pension should have received this by August 31st this year. The fact that they haven’t received this, bearing in mind we are nearly at the end of the year is not only unacceptable but is also a missed opportunity for the Pensions Authority to outline for the first time what officers in the 2015 Pension Scheme are likely to earn with this pension in the future. Is this the first time the Annual Benefit Statements have been late? Unfortunately the statements were late in 2015, the rationale provided by the Pensions Authority after being reported to the Pensions Regulator then, was that the 2015 Pension was new and the IT solution to deal with this would take some time. This was accepted by the Pensions Regulator in the circumstances. Many officers who have been transferred to the 2015 Pension Scheme will recall that the information provided in the statement was worthless as future values were not shown. At the time the Police Federation raised this point with the Force and the Pension Authority and requested that the statements were meaningful and showed a proper future valuation. What is the Police Federation doing about the latest failure to send the Annual Benefit Statements on time? Following a number of complaints from officers, the Police Federation recently wrote to the Pensions Regulator to complain about the Annual Benefit Statements being late in addition to some other complaints that we have received. Some of the other issues that have been raised are:- Process on retiring Officers have reported that the retirement process is complicated; paper based when it should be computer based and lacks updates and acknowledgements. 6 www.hampshirepolfed.org.uk
Federation Times Issue 18 December 2016 Pensions Being Paid Late Over the last year some officers have reported receiving their pension late. There is a service level agreement that sets out a minimum expectation of receiving the pension within 11 days with a local aim to complete this within 5 days. When this was looked at more closely it was found that data wasn’t getting through from the IBC to the Pensions Authority quickly enough, thus leading to a delay when received by the Pensions Authority. The number of pensions being paid late is reducing; however there is much work that needs to be done to improve confidence in this area. Officers approaching 30 years’ service have reported that at the point of retirement after working many dedicated years in the Force, the final thing they get from the Force is negative in relation to their pension. The Police Federation strongly believe that the last process/ interaction they have with the Force should be a positive one. Transferring In Other Pensions Transferees and New Recruits have reported issues transferring in their previous pensions. Some ex-PCSO’s have been advised that their previous pensions will be frozen and cannot be transferred in which is incorrect. Officers who have completed application forms to transfer their pension have not received acknowledgements or been given a valuation of their old pension. After this issue has been looked into it has been found that the processes are still not working correctly. There has to be better acknowledgement and communication with officers wishing to join the Police Pension or Transfer in their old pension, the risk is that officers will have no faith in the Police Pension and will not contribute. Additional Free Annual Quotation Under the service level agreement all subscribers to the Police Pension are entitled to a free pension quotation (In addition to their Annual Benefit Statement) each year. There have been reports from many officers that they simply cannot access the additional free statement. The current policy is that officers can apply through the IBC for a free quotation or if seeking ill health retirement this can be applied for through their HR contact officer. Officers have reported that they do not receive an acknowledgement or on occasions any contact or quote back. Some have reported that they only receive one free quotation on the 2015 scheme but do not receive one for their 1987 scheme pension. There should be a quick and simple way of receiving a free quotation where the officer is able to have direct access to request this from the Pension Authority. What is the Police Federation Doing for You? The Police Federation have a seat on the Force Pensions Board that oversees the Police Pensions Authority. All of the issues in this article have been raised at the Pensions Board in addition to being raised with the appropriate people within the organisation. Pensions by their very nature can be complicated. The Police Federation understands that there will challenges and difficulties in the future. That said communication must be improved. Within the Pension Regulators recommendation last year they stated that if the Annual Benefits Statement is going to be late the Pensions Authority must let members know when they can expect to receive their statements. This has not happened, which has led to a number of rightful complaints from members. Confidence must also be improved in relation to the processes. Investment in a pension is probably the most important financial decision that officers will make regarding their employment. The Police Federation have previously arranged Pension Seminars hosted by a Pensions Expert across the Force that were well attended and provided confidence especially with the implementation of the new 2015 pension. I have recently been asked if the Police Federation will arrange some additional Pension Seminars for those who missed the previous ones. This is something that the Police Federation are currently considering. If you have any concerns or questions that you would like to be raised at the Pensions Board Meeting or have any feedback good or bad please do not hesitate to contact the Police Federation, we will be pleased to raise any feedback you provide. Paul Robertson General Secretary Hampshire Police Federation www.hampshirepolfed.org.uk 7
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