STSS EMPLOYER SEMINARS FEBRUARY 2010

1. STSS EMPLOYER SEMINARS FEBRUARY 2010

2. Plan for today • Facilities • Agenda • Packs and comments cards • Feedback • Q&A • Workshops

3. Scottish Public Pensions Agency • We are an agency of the Scottish Government and have sole responsibility for the administration and regulatory work surrounding Teacher’s pensions in Scotland • We have been based in Tweedbank since September 2002 • In 2008/09 the SPPA had 232 WTE members of staff with 35 working part time • In the STSS administration section we have 32 pension administrators, 6 Team Leaders and 2 Regional Managers

4. Representatives for today include:- • STSS Operations Staff and Team Leaders • STSS Regional Managers • Pension Change Team • Finance Team • Policy Manager (for Q & A only)

5. Information about the Scheme • Members are contracted out of SERPS • Pension contributions attract tax relief • Scheme is unfunded and contributory • Membership is voluntary – however all staff are automatically entered into scheme and must choose to opt out

6. Contributions No change for Financial year 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011

7. The current Scheme Regulations to which the scheme is operated under are:- TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2005 TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION (SCOTLAND) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2008

8. STATS A total of 173 employers had staff eligible to join the scheme at 31 March 2009

9. Ongoing issues which are being addressed:- • Legacy Data tasks following introduction of • new Pension Administration system • Revision of existing STSS Employers Guide

10. STSS Operations Team Structure

11. http://www.sppa.gov.uk/

12. STSS and Employers Working Together A summary of what is required, when and why

13. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS Januaryto February • Dealing with Benefit Statement enquiries • Analyse the previous year to establish where improvements can be made • Working on Easter Retirals • Prepare circulars to advise of requirements and timescales • Assist Employers with Early Retiral information • Prepare for Employer Seminars

14. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS March to April • Most of the Easter Retirals should be completed • SPPA Payroll run Pension Increase (PI) STSS staff assist with influx of calls this generates • Issue of Annual Return Circular and PI Circular • Receiving August retiral applications • Analyse and log August retiral applications • Submit accrual information to finance

15. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS May to June • Receipt of Annual Returns • Loading and investigation of Annual Returns • Analyse and log August retiral applications • All August applications should by now have been received • Processing of August retirals • Influx in estimates and associated award tasks • Annual Return chase up Circular

16. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS July to August • Process August retirals • Receiving August retiral applications • Analyse and log August retiral applications • Deal with large number of telephone calls • Influx in estimates and associated award tasks • Receiving October retiral applications

17. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS September to October • Wash up of the August retirals • Process October retirals • Influx of benefit enquiries • Benefit statement planning and Circular • Receiving Christmas retiral applications • Re-employment enquiries

18. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS November to December • Issue of Benefit Statements • Process Christmas retirals • Influx of Benefit Statement enquiries

19. A Calendar Year in Administering the STSS All Year • Death and Ill-Health • Transfers • Refunds • Additional Pension • Record Management • Mid month closedowns • Monitoring literature/applications and updating accordingly

20. Data From Employers – current process

21. Data issues encountered in last year • Procedures introduced • Completion of TSS1 • Completion of TSS2 • Completion of TSS4 • Common Problems with Annual Returns • Benefit Statements

22. Data issues encountered • Implementation of new interface for data • New validations introduced • Legacy data to be loaded • Data awaiting upload

23. Procedures Introduced • All Data should be sent to: PCT@Scotland.gsi.gov.uk • All Data received by 25th of the month will be loaded that month • All Data received to the PCT mailbox address is now archived for a six month period

24. Completion of TSS1 (starter) form • Currently a TSS1 is required when: • A new employee has began to make superannuation contributions • When a member goes from either Full time to Part time OR from Part Time to Full Time • When the member makes a winding down election, takes phased retirement or becomes re-employed

25. Completion of TSS2 (Leaver) form • Currently a TSS2 is required when: • A member leaves pensionable employment (retires/opts out/leaves your employment) • When a member goes from either Full time to Part time OR from Part Time to Full Time • When the member makes a winding down election, takes phased retirement or becomes re- employed

26. Completion of TSS4 - (Annual Return) form • Currently a TSS4 is required: • For ALL members in Reckonable Service on the 31st of March for the relevant year. • An Annual Return is not required for members who have left service during the year. (The relevant data will be shown on the TSS2 – Leaver forms).

27. Common Problems with Annual Returns • Periodic Added Years and Additional Pension contributions • Multiple Contracts • Pay Reference Numbers • Salary Rates

28. Timing of Annual Returns • You are required to submit your annual return by the 31st of May. • Late receipt of annual returns means starter and leaver data cannot be loaded until the ARs are received. • Not receiving the AR’s by the end of May negatively impacts on the Agency’s ability to deal with summer retirees. • If the annual return is submitted late, the member may not receive a benefit statement.

29. Benefit Statements • First time issue from new system • Location code: What are location codes? Why are they important? • Method of sorting statements • Content and Information supplied

30. Looking forward. Options under consideration • Issuing direct to home addresses • On-line benefit statements • Both under active consideration but requiring some development.

31. Employer Engagement Future Data Interfaces A project to improve data exchange between STSS stakeholders Chris White SPPA Stakeholder Liaison (Operations)

32. Background • Current data validation routines have evolved since 1995 and before. They no longer represent best practice. • SPPA changed their STSS pension administration system to Heywood AXISe in September 2008 • August 2009 retirals were first major test • SPPA now wishes to maximise the utility of AXISe

33. Aims of the project • Improve efficiency of data transmission • Minimise risk of unvalidated data being received and applied to member records • Maximise use of communications technology

34. Project Milestones A circular will soon be sent to employers detailing post-April 2010 data receipt arrangements

35. Work to date • Currently in the second phase of the project This work focuses on: • Ways of implementing data validity checks • Consultation with pilot employers to establish what information payrolls can provide • A new file specification for submitting data • A template for smaller employers to submit data with basic validation using Excel

36. Data submission

37. Data transmission methods from employer to SPPA

38. Data submission – Current

39. Data Submission - Future • Data transmission format(1)

40. Data Submission • Data transmission format(2)

41. Data submission - Future Incorrect data fails validation DRAFT v1.1

42. Summary • No radical changes to data which employers provide • No paper data to be submitted after 31/03/2010 (Note that Awards forms, urgent faxes etc. still acceptable) • Data to be submitted to SPPA in a new format from 1st April 2011 • First annual returns in this format from 31st March 2012 • SPPA will work with employers and payrolls before changes are implemented for project phase 2 onwards

43. Any Questions? www.sppa.gov.uk chris.white@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 01896 893276

44. STSS Ill Health ApplicationsBrenda Callow

45. Who can apply for Ill Health Benefits? • Under Normal Pension Age (NPA) • 2 Years Qualifying • No Premature Application • Enhancement up to NPA • STSS re-employed pensioner • Non qualifying under 75 member

46. Ill Health Applications • SPPA (on behalf of Scottish Ministers) must be satisfied that the member has become permanently incapable of any teaching, including part-time teaching, until the members normal pension age. The medical advisors consider the medical evidence submitted and make a recommendation to the SPPA

47. Medical Advisors SPPA Occupational Health Medical Advisor is ATOS Healthcare. Medical Advisors analyse the medical application in line with the Scheme Regulations and then give advice to the SPPA. The member’s degree of incapacity will determine whether they are entitled to PIB (Partial Incapacity Benefit) or TIB (Total Incapacity Benefit). Decisions are based on the application and medical evidence received.

48. Two Tiered Approach • TIB (Total Incapacity Benefit) • PIB (Partial Incapacity Benefit)

49. TIB (Total Incapacity Benefit) • Pensionable employment • Ceasing the payment of contributions • Sick / maternity / paternity / adoption leave • Members not in pensionable employment who do not meet the above criteria • Enhancement • Reason for leaving

50. PIB (Partial Incapacity Benefit) • PIB Benefits – early payment no enhancement • Serving member contesting PIB award