This bulletin details the requirements for “Year End” pension information as at 31 March 2021. Alongside this bulletin you will find the following 4 documents for completion:
- Year End Return Spreadsheet (For i-Connect users, you will be contacted directly regarding your own requirements)
- Contributions Balancing Sheet which must be balanced, matching the monies paid over during the year
- Certification document
- Starters Spreadsheet (For non I-Connect users that have not submitted a monthly pension return spreadsheet or any member starter details since April 2020) A Year End Spreadsheet Completion Guide is also available
In order for your Year End information to be loaded, processed and verified before being used for member Annual Benefit Statements, member Pension Saving statements and closing annual accounts, it is imperative that the Pensions Section receives correct and verified information. In order for the information to be checked by the Investments Team and the Pensions Team, and to allow for any queries that arise, your Year End data MUST be submitted securely to the Pensions Section by 30 April 2021, so that these checks can take place and you will have time to resolve any queries.
As the Pension Regulator (TPR) now monitors the completion of Annual Benefit Statements by the statutory 31 August deadline, failure of employers in providing current data that leads to breaches of statutory regulations may result in us having to report the breaches to TPR, with potential fines or charges.
If the contributions do not balance these will be returned to you. Your submission may also be returned if your spreadsheet is missing data or formatted incorrectly. This includes ensuring that data in respect of any members who have multiple jobs is combined so that only one line of data appears, unless the member is a clerk to the governor, a returning officer, or you have been advised previously that a particular member’s multiple jobs are held as separate records on our system.
If you switched payroll providers during the year 2020-2021, then you will need to take steps to gather the necessary information in order that you can provide a complete total set of figures for the full 12 months.
The Certification Document must be signed by an authorised signatory e.g. Head of Finance or HR/Payroll, Internal or External Auditor, Bursar, Accountant. If you use a third-party payroll provider responsible for the accuracy of the data, you may ask them to sign the form on behalf of your employer.
Sending confidential information: When sending this confidential information, advice is that this should be sent using the Council’s secure e-mail system Egress. Please send the completed data to pensionsyearend@leics.gov.uk
Should you have any questions or queries arising from this document, please email Dean Campbell or call 0116 305 5862. Given the deadlines, I would encourage you to make contact sooner rather than later if there are any issues that you need resolving.
