Mayors & Councillors
The SPP support extending access to the LGPS for Mayors, but states that there are“…a range of views” among pension professionals on whether Councillors should be granted access to the scheme, with concerns that this could involve a disproportionate administrative burden for a relatively low financial benefit for Councillors.
Academy Schools
In relation to Academy schools and proposals to prevent contribution rate shopping , the submission explains that, “…the SPP believes it is unreasonable to expect a MAT not to consider the administrative efficiency and lower administrative cost of a consolidation given a change could, for example, potentially double or halve their LGPS pension contributions.” However, the SPP also acknowledge that, “…if unjustified contribution rate shopping is suspected by either administering authority then there remains the backstop of withholding agreement, which would then require the MAT to make its case to the Secretary of State.”
Outsourced workers
The New Fair Deal proposals to help ensure continued access to the LGPS for outsourced workers, “…potentially increase the complexity and administrative burden for administering authorities when a service provider joins the LGPS” The SPP highlight that the proposed outcome here can already be achieved by means of a “pass-through” arrangement which is commonly adopted, and so they, “…question the value of imposing further administrative obligations at such a busy time for the LGPS.”
Kirsty McLean, Chair of the SPP’s Public Sector Committee, said: “Improving access and fairness of the LGPS are sentiments with which the SPP agrees but as is often the case, the devil here is really in the detail. Whilst it makes sense to extend LGPS access to Mayors, there are concerns about extending access to Local Councillors given the low level of benefits involved, the complexity of administering this and the fact it creates inequity between Councillors in England and Wales. We also support the important balance of needing administering authority agreement to proposed consolidation as a means to curtail unjustified ‘contribution rate shopping’ by Academies and have highlighted to policymakers the administrative burdens that would be created by the proposed New Fair Deal proposals, the results of which could largely be achieved through existing “pass-through” arrangements.
More generally, the SPP is aware of the already heavy workload of LGPS administrators and is concerned that these developments (and others recently consulted on) should be introduced in a manageable timeframe given significant capacity constraints in the sector.”
|
