The shape of things to come

2006 has been a tumultuous year for pension scheme administration. A-Day simplification introduced a series of new challenges for trustees and third-party providers alike, and the full effect of the new regulations is only beginning to be felt now.

Historically, the third-party administration (TPA) industry has struggled with a less than positive reputation, but by-and-large its competing players have worked hard towards transforming this perception.

Their cause has been considerably bolstered by the Raising Standards of Pension Administration (RSPA) project’s ongoing endeavours to bring about wider discussion and unity within the industry.

Improvements are being made all the time, not least through enhancements of technology and increasing sophistication in the area of member communication.

The quality of TPA services has also become all the more significant as pension schemes and trustees find themselves increasingly reliant on outsourced provisions.

Professional Pensions’ latest administration survey reveals some interesting facts about the shape and character of the industry today.

The pensions landscape has evolved. Defined contribution schemes have overtaken defined benefit as the most common type of scheme being offered to new entrants, while hybrid schemes which offer a “halfway house” of sorts are beginning to make inroads into the market. It is understandable, then, that all of the survey’s respondents – with the exception of DC specialists like DC Link – administer all types of schemes, including hybrid arrangements.

The survey also illustrates the diversity in terms of the number of pension scheme clients that each company administers. While KKW Pensions Management, MNPA, The Pensions Trust and Pension & Benefits Services cater for under 50 schemes, firms such as Edis Partnerships, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Mercer administer at least 1000.

The same can be said about the size of the TPAs which responded to the survey: smaller outfits like KKW, Pal Partnership and Heath Lambert Consulting employ under 50 staff for their pensions administration; Mercer, which has more than 3000 staff in total, employs 1000 alone in the area of pensions administration.

Administration provider prices have continued to be driven down by market competition over the years. Focus therefore often falls on what added-value services competing firms can offer. The survey reveals a diverse range of such services being offered, such as trustee secretarial services and branded communications.

Meanwhile, many of the consultancy firms offer to bundle their administration service with accounting services and/or actuarial and investment consultancy services.

Technology is an important area for pensions administration. The industry has been revolutionised by the move away from paper-based processes to a computerised one. Trustees want to know that the software and technology systems in place will ensure the important processes smoothly, accurately and on time.

Most companies in the survey run their own in-house software and systems, whereby processing and data management is integrated with workflow and document management systems. A number of TPAs use industry standard systems such as those offered by Profund, Aquila and Comino.

One of the biggest improvements in the sphere of technology has been the increasing online provisions for members of pension schemes, with many now able to access personal scheme information online and to carry out “what if” calculations on their benefits.

Over 80pc of the survey’s respondents either provide web access for members of schemes they administer, or state that they have the capability to make it available for those employers and trustees that require it. A number of respondents who do not provide member-enabled web access suggest they have plans to introduce such a provision in the future.

However, it is widely accepted that online access is a relatively new feature of pension administration and is one that can never fully replace traditional face-to-face communication methods.

The majority of survey respondents stated that they utilise a variety of communication methods, more often than not including written correspondence, e-mail and telephone. A few offer the provision of SMS text messaging as a communication tool. Several provide newsletters, presentations and physical meetings.

In terms of dealing with member complaints, the majority of respondents run standard complaints procedures, and individual complaints are often brought to the attention of the managing partner or specialist team. Most of the companies also provided a means of recording complaints with a view to highlighting problem areas or recurring issues in order to address them.

One of the most effective ways for a pension scheme administrator to self-assess the quality of the service it is providing its members is through a customer satisfaction survey.

The Raising Standards in Pensions Administration released its pilot member survey earlier this year and it made for relatively reassuring reading: 87pc of scheme members who responded stated that they were “satisfied” with the service they were receiving; 65pc were “highly satisfied”.

Administration providers have increasingly turned to member surveys of their own as a way of ensuring levels of quality are being met. Our administration survey reveals that a large majority of companies today offer them to schemes: two-thirds of the Professional Pensions survey respondents either employ surveys for all schemes administered or are in a position to do so if they wished. Others are planning to introduce surveys in the future.

Aon Consulting, for example, offers a variety of surveys, ranging from annual exercises to mystery-shopper-type approaches and feedback forms. DC Link’s offers member surveys at the request of the client and endeavours to design it to reflect specific needs.

Administration will always be one of the most important aspects of an effective pension scheme, not least because it has a direct impact on the end user: the member.

The industry is a competitive one. As trustees become increasingly burdened with responsibility and consequently require reliable, effective outsourced services, the competition between TPAs is unlikely to become anything other than more pressured.

And as developments in technology continue to offer new solutions, and as pensions administration becomes increasingly sophisticated, it will be interesting to see whether the industry can continue to improve the quality of the services it offers, all the while faced with a constant influx of new challenges within an ever-changing pensions landscape.

The survey starts on the next page...

AON CONSULTING
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Aon administers DB, DC hybrid and career-average revalued earnings (CARE) schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We have over 550 clients for whom we provide pensions administration services.

How many staff do you employ? We have 460 staff providing administration services to our clients.

What value-add services do you offer? In addition to our core administration services we do discuss with our clients how these can be tailored or branded to reflect their precise requirements.
This can involve branded correspondence (i.e. using client logo, etc.), agreed telephone greeting, dedicated help lines, and bespoke correspondence standards and communication media. We also provide a range of options around technology, such as client access and member access.

What technology and administration systems do you use? For our pensions administration and pensions payroll services we use either Profund Classic or Aquila’s administrator system.
Aquila is our preferred platform. We have a number of in-house developed tools used to provide key management information regarding work levels, performance and metrics. This data is part of both our business management reporting and information we provide to the client/trustees.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? For day-to-day communications we use mail, e-mail, phone and fax.
We have also for one client been trailing the use of an SMS (text) service that routes and converts incoming text messages to a group e-mail account for the administration team. Responses to the message are converted from mail to SMS. For a number of clients we will have member help lines which may be an option from an overall HR help line system hosted by the client.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? A number of our clients have member web access and we are able to include member self service via the web with real-time access to update data and run calculations. The requirements for the site are discussed with each client and we can develop bespoke solutions that are tailored to individual client needs.

How do you handle complaints? Aon has a standard complaint procedure that forms part of training and compliance regime. This enables us to monitor the level of complaints and any trends that would point to a requirement for a service enhancement or training requirement.
However, it is also important that we recognise and address the member’s concerns in any complaint and that all complaints are handled quickly, effectively and fairly to resolve any issues that are brought to our attention.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? For a number of our clients we perform member satisfaction surveys.
The form of these varies from client to client, from an annual exercise, a “mystery shopper” approach, to a continual one with feedback forms issued to the member on the completion of their request/case.
We also analyse all in coming contact (mail, e-mail or phone) from members to determine whether there are any issues we need to resolve.


BARNETT WADDINGHAM
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes, we administer all types of schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We provide pension administration services for 209 clients.

How many staff do you employ? Barnett Waddingham employs 297 staff, of which 89 provide pension administration services to our clients.

What value-add services do you offer? Our administration team is an experienced and highly qualified team which provides a proactive approach to client management, with an emphasis on prevention not cure, and a willingness to find practical solutions to potential problems.
In addition to full pension administration services, we can provide trustee secretarial services, trustee training, AVC modelling, e-enabled access for clients, combined benefit statements and arrangements for securing annuity purchases. Our administrators also provide ad hoc consultancy services where required.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We have our own suite of pensions administration software, BWebstream, which provides a full range of integrated solutions.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? At Barnett Waddingham we believe that effective communication of information to pension scheme members plays a vital role in the running of the scheme.
We offer a full range of pension communications, for example: annual benefit statements; newsletters; scheme booklets; presentations; workshops; retirement counselling; telephone help-lines; web based services, and surveys.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Yes, we offer view only web access for members. This enables members to access their own information in real time.

How do you handle complaints? Complaints are rare. Each complaint is examined by the partner in charge of the client who will liaise with the client to agree how the matter will be rectified.
We operate an errors and omissions policy and all complaints are reviewed by the administration managers. These practices ensure that knowledge is shared and that revised procedures are implemented effectively.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We run surveys where these are agreed with our clients. In any event, we formally record for all our clients both positive and negative feedback received from everyday correspondence and client visits (client meetings, member surgeries, etc.).
Where we received feedback we work with the client to agree the appropriate action.


BUCK CONSULTANTS
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes, we administer pension arrangements for occupational DB, DC and hybrid schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? Currently, Buck provides administration services for over 200 pension schemes.

How many staff do you employ? We employ over 110 administration staff in the UK over six locations.

What value-add services do you offer? Buck offers a specialist communication arm to help us provide focused and tailored member communication.
We have a total reward capability that offers sophisticated personalised communication providing both paper and online total reward statements. We also provide data integrity audits and reports, plus access to HR services that offer advice to clients.
Our services range from rewards, incentives and salesforce effectiveness, performance management and employee engagement, change management and M&A services, to talent management and assessment.

What technology and administration systems do you use? Our software for pension administration is MasterKEY which is a bespoke software product owned by Buck. The software operates on an Intel platform and runs under Microsoft Windows 2000 on the desktop and server.
The underlying Microsoft operating and Microsoft Office environment permits all products to work together and exchange data as required. The system is supported by a dedicated team of pensions support staff who are based in our London office.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? We balance innovation and clarity in our employee communications with realistic and cost-effective pricing.
Our award-winning communications team operates under the Talking People brand and is based in our London office. We are a leading innovator in lifestyle-based pension communication, pension targeting and, now, wealth creation and education – we have advised the UK government in this latter area. Our methods include: standard letters; modularised statements; newsletters; member/pensioner forums and presentations.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Web access is offered to schemes via our chosen administration system MasterKEY.
In addition to being able to view their pension account details online, members can also make use of a number of transaction facilities, allowing them to: change personal details; change contribution rates; redirect future contributions; switch existing investments; run retirement modelling projections. Benefit statements can be downloaded along with various other scheme documentation. Membership data is updated every 24 hours.

How do you handle complaints? At Buck Consultants we take any complaints seriously and have set up a corporate policy with the objective to ensure that complaints are dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The policy identifies a set procedure and ensures the responsibility for any investigation is handled by our compliance officer. Any complaints that fall within FSA rules are naturally dealt with in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Buck has the capability to work with clients to assess satisfaction levels. We use a number of survey methods which range from online and written to focus groups. We work with clients to assess their ultimate requirements and identify the specific method best suited for targeting their members. We use anything from a simple exist survey on a web page, to a scientific attitudinal research exercise for an entire membership.


CAPITA HARTSHEAD
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Capita Hartshead offers a comprehensive range of occupational pension scheme administration services to defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid schemes for the private and public sectors.

How many pension funds do you provide for? Capita Hartshead provides administration services to 415 schemes and administers schemes of all sizes ranging from its smallest scheme with five members, to its largest scheme which has over 1.4 million members.

How many staff do you employ? Capita Hartshead currently employs 1158 staff throughout 12 locations in the UK and Ireland.

What value-added services do you offer? Capita Hartshead offers a comprehensive range of value-added services in addition to scheme administration including:
• Scheme accounting
• Pensioner payroll
• Communications design and production
• Scheme secretarial and trusteeship services
• Technical support & training
• Trustee training
• Website design, development and hosting

What technology and administration systems do you use? Capita Hartshead’s administration system – HartLink – has been designed and developed in-house. This approach means that Capita Hartshead is in control of its own IT development giving a unique flexibility.
HartLink is an integrated suite of systems for the administration of benefits, payment of pensions and the management of accounting. HartLink includes electronic interfaces to HMRC and fund managers, and includes integrated work management systems, automated letter production and online access for members, employers, actuaries and trustees.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members?
• Dedicated scheme help lines providing direct access to specific administration teams.
• Dedicated scheme postal addresses
• Dedicated scheme e-mail addresses
• Dedicated scheme websites offering self-service capabilities to members, including access via company intranet sites.
To ensure that members are fully aware of the communication channels available to them, Capita Hartshead provides each member with a durable plastic card giving details of their scheme website, dedicated e-mail address, and scheme help-line.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Capita Hartshead offers real time web access to members through ADDvantage@CAPITAHARTSHEAD.
ADDvantage@CAPITAHARTSHEAD provides the capability for members, employers and Trustees to process online real-time data updates and enquiries to the HartLink system via a client-branded secure website.
ADDvantage@CAPITAHARTSHEAD forms part of our standard service offering and is included within the costs quoted for pensions administration services.

How do you handle complaints? Capita Hartshead treats all complaints very seriously. We operate a formal complaints handling procedure, which is managed and controlled independently of our pensions administration teams.
Capita Hartshead also has a formal corrective and preventative action process to identify areas for improvement within the business by reviewing justified complaints. The aim of this process is to guard against future reoccurrence of the same problem, and to identify potential future problem areas.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Capita Hartshead routinely carries out member satisfaction surveys for a number of clients, issuing questionnaires that are tailored to a client’s exact specifications. Such surveys do not normally cover the entire membership, but rather encompass a large representative sample – commonly 1000 members.
Results are taken very seriously as a barometer of customer service performance, and where particular issues or problems are highlighted, these are raised with the appropriate management and the implementation of preventative actions investigated.


EDIS PARTNERSHIPS
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes

How many pension funds do you provide for? We offer a complete range of administration support from acting as secretary to trustees through to full administration and software solutions. Over 1000 schemes are administered by us directly or by our clients.

How many staff do you employ? We are a highly automated operation with direct member access via the web reducing the number of staff needed. As a firm we employ about 100 people including a small team in India working on software.

What value-add services do you offer? We could just refer to the range of services listed in the Professional Pensions directories! If it is to do with administration: booklets; accounting; mortality screening; full administration; secretarial; websites; software, to name but a few.

What technology and administration systems do you use? Our own systems all based on the fully integrated package we call PensionsOffice, the latest member of a family of systems going back more than 30 years.
What communication methods do you utilise with your members? We communicate with members via e-mail, letter and phone on routine matters such as quotations. Members, of course, can access their records and quotations via the web.
We also carry out employee meetings when requested by the employer, and produce booklets and annual member reports, as well as host information websites on behalf of the trustees.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Yes. All our systems are real-time so they receive “as at now” information.

How do you handle complaints? All complaints are investigated with feedback given to the client. Of the few we receive, 30pc are down to problems at the client end and the rest are internal; all are reported quarterly to the client.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? All members receive a quality questionnaire when they have been in communication with us, inviting them to tick a few boxes and write comments. A surprising number actually write just to make compliments.


EXCELLERATE HRO
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes, we do administer DB, DC and /or hybrid schemes.
ExcellerateHRO can provide a complete administration service for all forms of trust-based occupational pension arrangements and have been doing so since 1985. We are very experienced in facilitating a smooth transition of administration services from other providers or in-house operations.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We provide services to over 60 pension benefit arrangements. These range from as small as 200 members to as large as 60,000 members.

How many staff do you employ? ExcellerateHRO offers its pension administration service through its Bristol and Newbury service centres. At these centres, we have 110 employees working on all aspects of pension scheme administration. This has remained consistent over the past two years.
Our administration teams are made fully aware of the scheme complexities and the needs of our clients’ corporate culture by use of a thorough training programme. In addition, a number of the team have the PMI, QPA and FPC professionally qualifications.
What value-add services do you offer? We offer comprehensive service to clients that covers all their pensions administration needs. We successfully provide this service through a large, highly trained and very experienced pension team, an ISO 9001: 2000-accredited process to ensure a documented and consistent approach to service delivery, and the use of state-of-the-art technology to support our service. In addition, through our Bristol service centre, we are able to offer companies administration service for both their flex and share plans.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We use our own proprietary administration system BASIS, which runs on an Oracle platform, to support the administration of our pension schemes. This way we are in control of the functional design, architecture and technology that we use, which removes any risk of the system becoming unsupported.
We use OPERA II software for our pensioner payrolls and accounting services. Our pensioner payroll service is integrated with our BASIS administration system.
What communication methods do you utilise with your members? To communicate with members we use telephone, fax, e-mail, letter, bulk mailing, intranet sites and internet sites.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We do offer web access to members and they can see data in real-time. Our web service can provide members with the following:
• A suite of forms.
• Static information pages.
• Their current benefit statement.
• A retirement projection modeller.
• Ability to request contribution rate changes.
• Ability to request investment options changes.
• A transfer quotation.
How do you handle complaints? Complaints are treated as a priority and processed according to documented procedures agreed with clients as part of our ISO 9000: 2000 accreditation.
When a complaint is received, it must be passed immediately onto the department’s senior manager, who is then responsible for verifying that the complaint is acknowledged, a plan is put in place to resolve the issue (including time scales), that it is recorded in a complaint register and that it is satisfactorily resolved.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We are happy to work with our clients to conduct membership satisfaction surveys.
We find that the best way to do this is to collate data from a random sample of employees who contact the service centre each month.

DC LINK
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? At present we pride ourselves on providing specialist DC administration services to all types of DC arrangement including trust-based, GPP, stakeholder, AVC and offshore arrangements.
We supply services directly to pension schemes and act as a back office provider to insurance companies, investment managers or other generalist TPAs that require DC specialism. We work closely with in-house arrangements and other TPAs where they operate hybrid and/or DB arrangements.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We currently administer 212 pension arrangements of which 10 are offshore arrangements, and the rest are split 50/50 between trust-based occupational schemes and contract-based schemes (including GPP/stakeholder and S32s).

How many staff do you employ? We employ 70 members of staff in Peterborough.

What value-add services do you offer? To enhance the delivery of our services to our clients and their members we also provide:
• Access to DC specialists.
• Dedicated help lines manned by pensions administrators
branded internet access with real-time data including member, trustee and employer access.
• Legislative updates and seminars; communication services; training services.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We use COMPASS (supplied by Sungard) for administration, processing/data management, and AWD (supplied by DST International) for workflow management, document management and reporting.
Both are integrated through an internally developed front-end called SPS. We also have dc-Link, an internally developed Internet access facility to the live database.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? DC admin requires clear concise communication methods and that is why we utilise the full range of media channels available. The most utilised method still remain: written communication; e-mail; dc-Link (our internet facility); dedicated help lines; face-to-face meetings; group presentations.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We offer dc-Link, our internet access for members and trustees (and/or employer). The facility includes the ability to: run benefit statements; switch/rebalance online; change contributions; update personal details; access fund and scheme information; utilise the pension illustrator and carry out “what if” scenarios based on SMP, live data and scheme parameters; run management reporting via trustee access; utilise online contribution processing and data uploads.

How do you handle complaints? We administer regulated business as well as trust schemes, and as a result we apply the stringent FSA requirements on complaints for all our clients. Complaints are logged with our Compliance team and compliance monitors their progress and resolution. Complaints are also itemised in a monthly board report and we inform the client of any complaint received within 24 hours, and we aim to resolve any complaint within the same timeframe.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We are currently running a client satisfaction survey which will now become an annual event. Member surveys can be carried out at the request of the client.
We work with the client to design the survey as it is often an opportunity to communicate different events or impart information to the member. Once the design of the survey has been approved we would then issue it and collate the results and provide a report to the client.


HS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? We administer DB, DC and hybrid schemes as well as scheme wind-ups.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 50

How many staff do you employ? We currently employ 110 staff.

What value-add services do you offer? HS looks continually at means of enhancing service and adding value.
Examples include: implementation of document management free of charge for our clients, including back-scanning of all historic documents; carrying out a critical (i.e. not mechanical) review of the information provided to us at implementation; encouraging client HR and Payroll staff to meet at our premises to see how we provide services and to discuss pensions issues.

What technology and administration systems do you use? HS uses as its core system, providing database and calculation engine, industry-standard Profund systems. Our DC schemes are managed on Profund oPen and our DB schemes currently on Profund Classic.
Crucially, the difference between our use of information technology and that of other third-party administration providers is the way in which we overlay Profund with Continuity, a workflow and document management system that drives our administration.
How communication methods do you utilise with your members? We communicate with our members through various channels including: face-to-face contact, such as meetings and presentations; dedicated scheme e-mail box (45pc of our enquiries come this way); dedicated telephone enquiry service; web access on-line.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Yes, we offer web access to members. Members can look at real-time data and run real-time calculations to project their pension using SMPI assumptions at chosen retirement age, as well as other what-if calculations on scheme benefits and AVCs.

How do you handle complaints? We believe in openness with our clients and communicate with them to ensure they are clear on the commitments we have made to them about service and quality and kept informed of our achievements against those targets. In the event of client or member dissatisfaction, we have a full and transparent complaints procedure.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? An initiative we have recently instigated is the issuing of questionnaires to members on an individual basis every time we carry out a significant activity for them. This may be when they retire, join the scheme or seek a quotation.
The feedback we get is used to enhance and develop our service and to provide recognition of good performance to our people.


HEATH LAMBERT CONSULTING
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes – DB, DC and hybrid.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 95.

How many staff do you employ? Over 40.

What value-add services do you offer?
• Legacy: combined consultancy; actuarial; administration; investment solutions for closed DB schemes. It allows modelling of balance sheet impact of alternative investment strategies linked to regular actuarial updates.
• Member communication: member seminars and newsletters.
• Trustee websites: provides all documentation, meeting minutes agendas and CPD recording to support trustees.
• Help desk.

What technology and administration systems do you use? Profund Classic platform linked to in-house developed work management system (PAL).

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? See above.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Available to clients and members on request.

How do you handle complaints? There is a formal procedure in place to deal with any complaints that arise.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? No, although regular feedback to trustees is provided through regular administration reports.


HYMANS ROBERTSON
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes – we administer a range of different benefit structures covering all aspects of DB, DC, hybrid and, more recently, CARE type arrangements.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We provide administration services to 62 pension arrangements.

How many staff do you employ? 57 staff including six who provide support to our admin software and systems. Overall, Hymans Robertson employs 320 people in the UK.

What value-add services do you offer? We provide the following added value services:
• Client branded communications, e-mail addresses and direct dial telephone help lines.
• Member feedback forms to facilitate comment on services and interaction with our administration teams.
• Quarterly stewardship reporting to trustees and employers.
• Attendance at member seminars, retirement counselling and other face to face functions to allow access to the administration teams.
• Remote access to our live administration systems for our client contacts.
What technology and administration systems do you use? We use third-party software for our administration services.
The software product is the Comino Universal Pensions Management System version 2.12.
This is a latest generation administration system providing fully integrated administration, pensioner payroll, EDM and workflow tools.
We receive the core software and ongoing upgrades from Comino PLC but provide all user and client level support internally.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Scheme members are able to deal directly with our administration teams. Members can interact with administration staff through e-mail, telephone or in writing, via the client contact or face-to-face through organised seminars and client site visits.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We provide on-line remote access to our live administration systems for our client contact but not for individual scheme members.
This latter feature is supported by the UPM software and we are currently working with one client to establish the facility for the scheme members to access their records via the web. This is aimed at providing access to the live systems but is in development at present. We plan to release the functionality by April 2007.

How do you handle complaints? We operate a formal complaints policy. We define a complaint as “any oral or written accusation, criticism, or comment of grievance regarding quality, accuracy or timing of service, regardless of legitimacy”.
All formal complaints are registered by our legal and risk practice and are monitored by the management committee of the firm.
We maintain a formal procedure for dealing with these occasions, which will enable us to resolve a grievance quickly and effectively.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We undertake customer satisfaction surveys bi-annually with our clients, although these are based on our day-to day-client and trustee contacts.


JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON ADMINISTRATION SOLUTIONS
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? We administer a mixture of DB, DC and hybrid schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We provide administration services for over 1000 pension funds to include clients who are part of our life insurer outsourced portfolio.

How many staff do you employ? We employ circa 850 staff within JLT Benefit Solutions.

What value-add services do you offer? Actuarial consulting; administration consulting; executive compensation; flexible benefits; healthcare consulting; independent trustee services; investment consulting; pension scheme administration; pension scheme consulting; risk benefits brokerage and consulting; services for financial intermediaries and institutions; scheme wind-up and restructure.
Within the JLT Group, we also provide a range of insurance services.

What technology and administration systems do you use? JLT acquired Profund in 2004. Our flagship system is the oPen product although we also utilise Profund Classic too. Owning our own software, unlike many of our other competitors, provides us with an advantage in providing cost savings to clients, due to continual improvement of process and procedures and efficiencies.
We also utilise Handysoft Bizflow and Microsoft Sharepoint for automated workflow, document image processing and electronic document management.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? We utilise a variety of communication methods, although most communication methods are largely paper or telephone-based, following instructions from our clients.
We are able to communicate via electronic means such as e-mail and website updates again as required by our clients.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We do offer web access to members. The information can be as “live” as the client requires from real-time access to a shadow database, which can be updated as regularly as the client requires.

How do you handle complaints? We have an internal complaint handling procedure which is followed in all cases.
All client dissatisfaction is recorded centrally by being registered and forwarded to our business risk team. Complaints are notified on differing levels depending on the nature of complaints. The information is collated and provided to the business risk director and is regularly cascaded within the administration executive.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Yes, we seek member comments on our services and look for innovative ways of receiving member feedback. These are reviewed and integrated as part of our continual improvement of process and procedures.


LANE CLARK & PEACOCK
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? We administer DB and hybrid schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? About 100 DB and hybrid schemes.

How many staff do you employ? 277, including 64 pensions administration staff.

What value-add services do you offer? Each administration package is tailored to suit the client and therefore varies in terms of services available.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We use our own proprietary system to administer DB schemes. Calculations are performed in a secure module in VBA within Excel, sending and receiving data via OLE links. Letters and documents are produced in Word merging with predefined data.
This user-friendly system provides LCP and our clients with a high degree of flexibility and control, and enhances our ability to respond swiftly to our clients’ needs.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? We communicate by letter, newsletters/announcements, e-mail and telephone with our members.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We have the technology to offer web access to DB members but, to date, this service has not been required by our clients.

How do you handle complaints? We have established procedures for handling complaints which require all complaints to be referred to the managing partner. Clients who have issues are encouraged to speak to the administration team leader in the first instance, but partners are always at hand to deal with any matters.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We have recently implemented the ongoing monitoring of member satisfaction with our service and have been delighted with the feedback we have received so far.

KKW PENSIONS MANAGEMENT
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? DB, DC and hybrid schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 22

How many staff do you employ? Four

What value-add services do you offer? Efficiency and speed of service.

What technology and administration systems do you use? In-house pensions administration system.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Mainly written communications since this is currently how the sponsoring employers that we deal with communicate with the employees concerned. E-mail and telephone enquiries taken.
Electronic copies of scheme information such as booklets and forms provided to clients to put on internal intranets.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Generic scheme information only, provided online.

How do you handle complaints? These rarely occur and are dealt with depending on the situation in as efficient way as possible. If complaints are of a scheme nature members are referred to the internal disputes resolution procedure.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? No, although we would be happy to if clients required.


MERCER HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes, Mercer’s administration services cover DB, DC, CARE and hybrid schemes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? Approximately 1000 plus a large number of plans in wind-up.

How many staff do you employ? Mercer is the largest consulting firm of its type in the UK, with some 3000 staff in 19 office locations. Over 1000 employees work in pension administration.

What value-add services do you offer? Overall service designed to deliver value to clients and customers (the members). Specific areas where value is added are:
• Web self-service.
• Member communication.
• Flexibility for more complex arrangements and to meet varied customer needs.
• Bundled solutions for clients seeking streamlined services.

What technology and administration systems do you use? Our in-house system provides all required functionality.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? A full suite of communication methods are used.
• Help lines routed directly to the administration team
• Call centre
• E-mail
• Web
• Generic member communications

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Members can access real-time online information on their scheme, current value of benefits and “what if” scenario projections.

How do you handle complaints? A central team coordinates complaints work using established procedures.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Surveys are run for a number of our clients on an event basis – for example, following a retirement event.


MNPA
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes. All of the above and CARE schemes as well.

How many pension funds do you provide for? We currently administer 33 schemes, covering over 270,000 members, on behalf of 20 household-name clients.

How many staff do you employ? We currently have 177 employees.

What value-add services do you offer?
• Client Forum: Our unique, interactive client forums give clients a clear say in our decisions. With an incredibly high take-up rate, we know they value the sharing of ideas.
• Governance: We are looking to provide clients with an AAF 01/06 report later in 2006.
• Measuring our service: We believe our clients will benefit from MNPA reporting on a broad range of service measures, both qualitative (e.g. member satisfaction) and quantitative (e.g. turnaround times).

What technology and administration systems do you use? We use Comino’s UPM software for all schemes. Clients experience a high level of automation as UPM is a comprehensive pension administration software solution, embracing EDM and workflow management, so that processes, scanned documents, member data, pension calculations, outgoing correspondence, pensions payroll and DC administration functionality are incorporated in the same system, removing “integration issues” between software packages.
We have integrated UPM with Sun Accounts to reduce the risk of transposition errors and increase security.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? We utilise all the key communication methods – paper, e-mail, telephone and static websites – and in all cases provide professional support to members and answers they can understand. We know how much members value the opportunity to talk to knowledgeable and helpful people.
Our approach is to operate dedicated client phone lines, answered by experienced administrators, and e-mail addresses for member enquiries. We do not operate a call centre.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? We can already provide member web access (via the internet or corporate intranets) to static information within pension scheme websites.
We are also embarking on a major web project which will provide scheme members with interactive web access to scheme information and their own data. The web project is scheduled for phased delivery during 2006 and 2007.

How do you handle complaints? Our definition and process for handling complaints is set out in our quality system under BS EN ISO9001: 2000.
We take all complaints seriously, irrespective of where fault lies. We deal swiftly with complaints and think about them in the widest context (e.g. are any other members affected?) and maintain open communication with members and clients at all times.
Our customer care programme instils in staff “accountability” – taking ownership of issues and ensuring they are resolved.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Several MNPA clients participated in the Raising Standards in Pensions Administration’s pilot member satisfaction survey. The results showed that the feedback from MNPA respondents met or exceeded the generic survey in many areas. For one of our clients, overall member satisfaction was 92pc, compared to the generic average of 86pc.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the results is that the member satisfaction for MNPA respondents exceeded the average by 3pc in the “very satisfied” category.


PAL PARTNERSHIP
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes, all three.

How many pension funds do you provide for? Approximately 800.

How many staff do you employ? 20.

What value-add services do you offer? Very competitive fees; designated account executives for each case; experienced well trained staff; fully flexible options for retirement and investment of pension funds; very competitive provider interest rates for SIPP and SSAS; on-line features; no restrictions on legal and management options for pension scheme property purchase.

What technology and administration systems do you use? SSAS Pro and SIPP Pro provided by Delta.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Letters, fax, telephone, e-mail and face-to-face meetings.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Not yet, but due to be implemented shortly. Data will be current to close of play the previous day.

How do you handle complaints? Written acknowledgement within five working days; full investigation by compliance department; full response within four weeks – if not possible a holding letter with reasons; final response within eight weeks, unless specific circumstances prevent this; explanation of statutory rights to refer to Ombudsman; fair compensation if appropriate.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? No, but constant monitoring of customer reaction and feedback is carried out.


PAYMASTER
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? We provide comprehensive administration services for all three scheme categories.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 150

How many staff do you employ? 562 staff working on pensions administration.

What value-add services do you offer? Trustee secretarial services; scheme communications; scheme accounting; member surveys; data cleansing and validation; existence testing.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We currently utilise the Compendia software platform provided by our sister organisation Claybrook. As Compendia is browser based it fully supports internet/intranet access.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Our approach is to agree with our clients the appropriate method of communication they require us to utilise with their members and in turn members to communicate with ourselves. As such we adopt a mixture of paper, telephonic and electronic communication medium.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Web access is available both on a client and member level via the Compendia software platform. Individuals are able to interrogate their records and access information that will current at the time of their enquiry.

How do you handle complaints? A comprehensive complaints recording, monitoring and investigation process is undertaken within the administration area.
All complaints are reported within the administration report produced for the respective trustee boards and include a synopsis of the complaint, action taken and any appropriate process change necessary.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Satisfaction surveys are undertaken at both client and member level, client surveys are undertaken every six months involving individual interviews with the head of our quality management team.
Our clients are encouraged to issue member satisfaction surveys at least once a year. The format and frequency of member satisfaction surveys are designed and agreed in close consultation with our clients.


PENSION & BENEFIT SERVICES
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Pension & Benefit Services Limited is a specialist firm of pensions administrators totally committed to the administration of pension schemes of all types, including defined benefit, defined contribution, hybrid and career average revalued earnings (CARE).

How many pension funds to you provide for? Pension & Benefit Services Limited currently has 42 schemes ranging in size from over 14,000 members to 40, covering all types of scheme including one defined benefit scheme with 19 different benefit structures.

How many staff do you employ? Pension & Benefit Services Limited has 60 staff including one FPMI, two APMI and seven with the Qualification in Pensions Administration, with a further 11 currently studying for PMI and 13 for the Qualification in Pensions Administration.

What value-added services do you offer? Pension & Benefit Services Limited provides its clients with a reliable, consistent, accurate and proactive service, which is flexible and tailored to clients’ requirements. We deal directly with members as part of the fixed fee and ask clients to treat us exactly as they would an in-house department.

What technology and administration systems to you use? Pension & Benefit Services Limited uses the P3 administration system in conjunction with Microsoft applications. The P3 system is tailored in-house to carry out all calculations and produce letters and benefit statements electronically and monitor workflow.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Pension & Benefit Services Limited asks clients to treat them as an in-house pensions department and communicates with members by post, telephone, e-mail, and in person and through web access if the client so requires.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how live is the information? Pension & Benefit Services Limited can make available full web access for members with live data.

How do you handle complaints? In the unlikely event of a complaint, this is dealt with by following a formal complaints procedure. All complaints or potential complaints are logged and reported to the trustees as a matter of course.
A full investigation is undertaken into the cause of the complaint and a full response to the member is provided within a few days. This is followed by a review of procedures to prevent a future recurrence.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? Not currently, but we are intending to do so within the next six months.


THE PENSIONS TRUST
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? The Pensions Trust is one of the leading multi-employer occupational pension funds in the UK for the charitable, social, educational, voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.
We administer all types of pension scheme – defined benefit, defined contribution and our award-winning CARE scheme, for single and groups of employers in the UK charitable and not-for-profit sectors.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 29 stand-alone final salary schemes, five multi-employer final salary schemes, a money purchase plan and a career average revalued earnings scheme.

How many staff do you employ? We employ approximately 160 staff who serve over 4000 employer organisations with over 120,000 members and pensioners, from offices in Edinburgh, Leeds and London.

What value-add services do you offer? The Pensions Trust offers a comprehensive service package which includes the following areas: pensions administration and payroll; scheme management and consultancy; trusteeship; account management/stewardship reporting; prospective and new member presentations; employer specific pension meetings; scheme specific investment strategies and investment management; customer communications/newsletters; actuarial and accounting, including all necessary reporting.
Many of these activities are included in the basic cost of our service.

What technology and administration systems do you use? The pensions administration system used is Pensions Office. Workflow and contribution posting are dealt with via in-house systems.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Throughout the year, The Pensions Trust issues a number of regular communications to members as follows: summarised annual report; Intouch magazine (issued twice a year); scheme specific annual reviews; benefit statements; braille and audio versions of all available documents; summary funding statements; bonus announcements.
The Pensions Trust also issues ad hoc communications to employer organisations and members, as and when required, such as updates on new legislation and stewardship reports.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? The Pensions Trust has a website, of which copy is checked on a daily basis, and updates are then made as and when required. At this moment in time we do not offer web access to members. From October 1 we will be enabling employers to submit data to us via the web.

How do you handle complaints? The Pensions Trust has a two-stage internal disputes resolution procedure. All complaints are investigated independently by the Trust’s compliance department before a formal response to the complaint is prepared by the chief executive. If a member remains unhappy he or she can appeal directly to the trustee.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? We run member satisfaction surveys on a frequent basis and the results of this are integral to the business plan, and, therefore, ultimately the performance of the organisation.


PUNTER SOUTHALL & CO
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes

How many pension funds do you provide for? 160

How many staff do you employ? 110 in administration.

What value-add services do you offer? We can provide secretarial services to the trustees, dedicated help line and e-mail facilities.
Our sister company Punter Southall Financial Management can provide independent financial advice to members, an annuity bureau service, retirement and redundancy counselling.

What technology and administration systems do you use? We use our own administration system PenScope which has a flexible web-based display using the latest technology with an industry leading calculation engine built to handle rules and exceptions.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members? Most clients still opt for paper-based benefit statements and newsletters to communicate with their members, but we have been providing on-line benefit statements to other clients for several years now.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Yes we offer web access to members, and update unit prices weekly.

How do you handle complaints? Any complaints are brought to the attention of management immediately.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? No but we do run client satisfaction surveys.


WATSON WYATT
Do you administer DB, DC and/or hybrid schemes? Yes.

How many pension funds do you provide for? 200-250 in total, of which 30 are admin-only clients.

How many staff do you employ? 330 in pensions administration.

What value-added services do you offer?
• Excellent web facilities for employers, trustees and members providing self service capability and real-time management information (ePA).
• HR and benefits portal technology and advice.
• HR process change – enabling technologies and advisory services.
• Integrated pensions, flexible benefits and total compensation statement suite.

What technology and administration systems do you use? In-house developed software called PMS6000, which uses a three tier architecture comprising: Oracle database; rich DB and DC functionality; integrated pensioner payroll, treasury and accounting; automated payments, workflow and electronic document storage functionality; internal user interface and web user interface.

What communication methods do you utilise with your members?
• Crystal marked standard letter suite, amended for post A-Day.
• Dedicated telephone and e-mail help lines with call centre facilities.
• Standard or customised benefit statements including total reward statements.
• Web self-service for enrolment, quotations, balance enquiries, modelling, fund switching and redirection, and updating member details.
• SMS and instant messaging capability.

Do you offer web access to members? If so, how “live” is the information? Yes, via our ePA web solution. Information is available and updates are processed in real-time.

How do you handle complaints? We have a standard procedure for handling complaints which includes immediate escalation to the administration/client manager and acknowledging receipt of the complaint if an immediate response cannot be given.
Regardless of their nature or cause, all complaints are treated with the same level of seriousness. All complaints, errors, delays and omissions are recorded on a “quality database” which enables us to measure the quality of our service and learn from any mistakes.

Do you run member satisfaction surveys? To date we have not routinely carried out member satisfaction surveys, although this can be arranged on a client-by-client basis. ePA users can complete online feedback in the form of a mini questionnaire which asks specifically about their ePA experience.