The administration of the West Sussex Pension scheme by Capita for West Sussex County Council from 2012-2019 was a very difficult period for all concerned, with service levels dipping far below what should ever be tolerated.
UNISON welcomes the decision to insource the service back from the private sector to the public sector. However we note that West Sussex has had to commission Hampshire County Council to provide the service. What a tragedy that such foolish decisions taken in 2011-12 and tolerated until 2019 have resulted in West Sussex County Council no longer having the capability to run its own pension admin service. This is despite the fact that the West Sussex LGPS is actually one of the best-performing pension schemes in the country, with more than 100% of liabilities met through over £3.5billion of assets,
Members can contact the Hampshire pension admin service through:
- pensions@hants.gov.uk
- or by calling 01962 845588.
It’s also a straightforward and user-friendly process to register to receive your pension details and statements online.
Indications of service levels and response times are pretty good so far, judging by the feedback we have had from members. However, if you do encounter problems you can of course still contact the branch office for support.
We have heard of a small number of issues of inconsistencies with the Annual Benefits Statements (ABS) which have been transferred from Capita to Hampshire County Council, with the incorrect ABS being posted online. Any incorrect benefits statements should be superseded when Hampshire issue the Annual Benefits Statements on behalf of WSCC for the first time before the end of August 2019. However, we have asked WSCC to investigate and to check if the problem is widespread and to ensure the correct ABS’ are reloaded to the online system.
UNISON does still strongly encourage members to take a lead on checking that their pension details are as they expect and in order.
This is best done online. You should check that your core membership details are correct:
- your pensionable pay
- the date you joined the pension scheme
- your length of service
- that you are in the correct part of the scheme (main or 50:50)
- that any transferred in pensions are correct
- your nomination details
Members who receive their pension statements by post only must check they are happy with them in August.