EPN374 - 2015 Pension Changes – Employer Roles and Responsibilities

Date posted: 02/02/2014

Audience: This Notice will be of particular interest to: 

• HR Managers; 
• Pension leads; and 
• Payroll Managers

Action: 

• Note the action you need to take to deliver planned activities in 2014 and 2015; 
• Direct your workforce to the member communications products published on the Civil Service webpages

Timing: Immediate

1. Employer roles and responsibilities: overview: The successful implementation of the new Civil Service pension scheme in April 2015 depends on employers delivering specific key activities. You will need to take the necessary action to ensure Payroll and HR processes are updated to reflect the new pension scheme arrangements. You are also responsible for cascading information about the changes (provided by the Programme) to your workforce.
2. The 2015 New Pension Scheme Implementation Programme will continue to support you in delivering these important changes, including providing further engagement events (in March 2014, further details to follow) and documentation that outlines what changes are required.
3. Key actions include:

• putting your workforce in the right scheme on day 1 of implementation (or at their Tapered Enrolment end date if they do not choose to move to the new scheme on day 1 as part of the Options Exercise); 
• identifying those applying for ill health retirement in March 2015 or at their Tapered Enrolment end date; 
• identifying joiners and re-joiners with service in another Public Service scheme and putting them in the right scheme; 
• understanding the increased interface validations process; 
• managing existing added years and added pension contracts; and 
• administering the new Effective Pension Age options.

4. You are also responsible for cleansing data for members who are part of the Options Exercise and for ensuring members are aware of information about the 2015 changes that will be provided by the Programme.
5. Data Cleanse Activity: to be completed by May 2014: MyCSP’s data team is working closely with you to cleanse the required member data records (if you have not been contacted yet you will be soon). Please note that if you are the current employer of a member you are responsible for cleansing all data relating to that member, this includes historic data from previous PCSPS employers.
6. You will need to put the necessary resources in place to:  

• liaise with other employers to ensure the data MyCSP holds is accurate – if you are unsure about who to contact, the employer engagement leads, 2015employers@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk, will be able to advise you; and 
• verify historic information held by you – please note this may involve reviewing microfiche or paper files.

7. If you have any issues or concerns about this data cleanse activity, please contact the MyCSP data team in the first instance, dataintegrity@mycsp.co.uk.
8. New Communication Material for Members: A ‘2015 Pension changes update’ e-bulletin has been published on the scheme website, along with some other new communications materials. These will help scheme members understand what the implementation of the new pension scheme will mean for them. It is important that you make use of these to ensure your employees understand the changes.
9. The 2015 Programme will publish most of the member-focused 2015 communications material on the scheme website. However, we recognise that not all employees have access to a PC so we have published the communications in formats that are easy to print off if required.
10. The new member communications products include: 

• a set of ‘at-a-glance’ guides covering some of the key changes between the new scheme and the existing arrangements; 
• updated Q&A and information about how different types of members are likely to be affected; and 
• a handy reference guide to help members work out which scheme they are currently in. It is important that members know this, in order to understand how they will be affected by the changes.

11. The Programme will continue to publish information about the 2015 changes on the website. However, please contact 2015employers@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk if you receive queries from your workforce that you are unable to answer.
12. Supporting you through the changes: Annex A provides you with an overview of the key activities that you will be asked to undertake and when. This will help you to plan and ensure you have the appropriate resources in place to meet your responsibilities. 
13. The next round of national engagement events in March will provide further details about your role and how the Programme will support you through the changes. Details about the events will follow shortly.
14. Please note that MyCSP will contact you in February to identify key contacts for your different business areas. This will ensure the Programme gets the key messages to the right people in your organisation at the right time.

Contacts:

If you have a question about the distribution of EPNs or you need to receive them in a different format contact employerpensionnotice@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk.

Attachments

• Annex A - 2015 Scheme implementation – Employer activities