Wiltshire: Early engagement key to managing LGPS reform

The LGPS reforms came into effect on April 1 and centred on the requirement to calculate all benefits accrued from that point as career average, rather than final salary.

David Anthony, head of pensions at Wiltshire Pension Fund, told delegates at last week’s National Association of Pension Fund’s 2014 Local Authority Conference that it began engaging with members and preparing systems even before the full details of the reforms were apparent.

The £1.6bn Wiltshire scheme includes roughly 140 employers with around 55,000 members. “The communication strategy really started back in 2011 once the Hutton report was published,” said Anthony.

“With the fundamental changes being proposed it was important [the] membership was aware of them. We covered all audiences as a part of this and worked closely with our local union reps to ensure we had a consistent message and offered them a shared platform.”

Anthony added that, while the main scheme regulations had been finalised well in advance of implementation, the issuance of transitional regulations and Government Actuary’s Department guidance came later.

“The implementation plan really came into effect at the start of last year, when we had a clear idea of how the scheme would work operationally,” said Anthony. “Preparation for us has always been key… we did restructure the scheme back in 2011 to ensure we had the right resources and the right skills in the right areas.”

The fund originally planned to complete implementation by June this year, but Anthony said this deadline may slip. Other schemes also highlighted the importance of working with available information to prepare for the changes.

“We knew early on what the basics of the new scheme were going to look like, obviously there was a fair bit still to be sorted out,” said Mike Allen, director of pensions at the London Pensions Fund Authority. “We put a lot of effort into making sure our own staff were fully trained and kept up to date with the changes so they could see what was coming.”

Joint comms

Wiltshire pooled expertise with other funds in southwest England to discuss communication and implementation strategies.

“This has been a perfect opportunity for funds to collaborate,” said Anthony. “Funds from the southwest did work together to create presentations and associated literature. There’s also a good deal of expertise in the southwest to draw on and share expertise on new regulations and implementing system changes.”

Scattered membership at Wiltshire made it difficult to engage with members face to face, said Anthony, so the fund used annual benefit statements and newsletters to ensure updates reached all members.

The scheme also used posters and roadshows, but faced challenges when carrying out site visits.

“With the great number and dispersion of employers, individual site visits were much more difficult,” said Anthony. “We anticipate some people still won’t be aware. We can only continue to do presentations.”