October 2022

Decommission of Employer Self Service

We have been advised by our database providers, Heywood Pension Technologies that with effect from 1 March 2023 we will no longer have access to the Employer Self Service (ESS) module.

You will be aware that this module is used by the majority of employers to provide Peninsula Pensions with leaver information for scheme members and for employers to check member records and produce employer led estimates.   

All employers have already been asked to move to monthly interfaces for starters, personal and contractual changes for scheme members along with CARE pay. We will now be requesting leavers information is provided to us in the same format. 

On the 10 November 2022 we will be holding an online meeting to present details of the way forward and we would like as many of you and your payroll representatives to attend. This will allow us to consider any feedback you may have within our plans to ensure a smooth transition for all sides.

We have also set aside a second date of 23 November 2022 if a significant number of employers are unable to attend on the 10^th.

Please confirm your attendance by completing the booking form:

10 November 2022

23 November 2022

TPR warning for employers

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is warning employers to ensure they are complying with their automatic enrolment duties. The warning follows a series of in-depth compliance inspections with more than 20 large employers earlier this year. The employers are from the transport, hospitality, finance and retail sectors. TPR found several common errors in respect of calculating pension contributions and communications to staff.

Please read the TPR Press Release dated 26 September 2022 - Common errors prompt TPR to warn employers they must comply with pension duties

Team Changes

Following a review, we have made some changes to the team set up which includes the introduction of a 4^th member services team.  As you are aware the teams calculate member benefits for specific employers and your contacts may have altered. Full details of who is on each team can be found on our Peninsula Pensions Team webpage.    

For ease the Team Manager and Pensions Officer for each team is set out below:

Devon LGPS Fund employers (not including DCC, DCC paid academies, Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council and Police and Fire schemes)

Chris Collyer      Team Manager

David Morris     Pensions Officer

Somerset County Council (SCC), SCC paid employers, West Somerset and Taunton Deane Council, Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council and South Somerset District Council.   

Amy Gammon   Team Manager

Vicki Pritchard   Pensions Officer

Plymouth City Council, Police and Fire LGPS employers, Somerset employers (except SCC and SCC paid employers, Somerset District and Borough Councils)

Fiona Samways Team Manager

Neil Pook            Pensions Officer

Devon County Council (DCC), DCC paid academies and Torbay Council

Marcella Parr     Team Manager

Claire Kissane    Pensions Officer

Queries in relation to processes, training and presentation requirements remain with the Employer and Communication Team.  You can send your queries to peninsulaemployers@devon.gov.uk 

New dates: Pension Awareness Week

The Pension Awareness Week activities and events have been rescheduled for 31 October - 4 November 2022. Please share the Pension Awareness and the Retiring from active status webpages with your members.

Final Pay Employer Training

As mentioned in September's edition, the Local Government Association (LGA) have published final pay bitesize training which can be found on the employer bite size training page of their website. Please also see the recordings of our Pensionable Pay Focus sessions and our Employer's Guide to the LGPS on our website for additional guidance.

Employer Pensions Discretions Policy

Following the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen and the national period of mourning, we decided to cancel the Employer Pensions Discretions focus session that was planned for 15th September 2022. We have been working on a discretions video guide but unfortunately this has been put on hold whilst we are concentrating on the ESS replacement.  

Please remember to review your pensions discretion policy and send a copy of your current or updated policy to the Employer & Communications team. Full guidance and an example template are available on our website and if you have any questions, please contact the Employer & Communications Team. 

Pension Administration Reminders:

Keep us updated with any changes in staff responsible for completing our forms and submitting pension data (authorised signatories) via our online form.

Payment of Pension Fund Contributions - please remember to inform us and the relevant Finance team each time you have paid your pension scheme contributions, by filling in the Monthly Contributions Form.

If you are changing your Payroll Provider, please contact the Employer & Communications Team so that we can help you through the process and make sure you retain access to historical payroll information.

Alternative Leaver form - Do you receive work activities stating the ESS leaver form is blank? If so, there is an alternative leaver process for employers who do not currently download and re-upload the leaver form on the same day. A template form is available to be used internally at your end to complete and arrange for checking/sign off ahead of uploading to ESS. Then when the leaver form is ready to be made live on ESS, the alternative leaver form is created so that you can copy and paste the details from yours to the ESS version. If you think this process might work better for you, please contact Emma Davies who will provide more details.

TUPEs & New Academies – please do not submit any leavers forms if you are outsourcing services and have a number of staff who will be subject to TUPE or your school is converting to an Academy or moving Trusts. Instead, you will need to follow the process on our website.

Useful Links

Peninsula Pensions Employers' Pages

LGPS regulations and guidance

Fund Investments

LGPS National Website

Employer & Communications Team Mailbox

Previous editions of Pensions Line

Peninsula Pensions
Great Moor House
Bittern Road
Sowton Industrial Estate
Exeter EX2 7NL
Tel: 01392 383000
Peninsula Pensions is provided by Devon County Council and is a shared service with Somerset County Council