Employer Knowledge Article

Section 2.1 - Roles and responsibilities

A number of people and organisations have responsibility for ensuring the successful delivery of the Civil Service Pensions arrangements.

Section 2.2 - The Cabinet Office Minister responsible for the Civil Service

The Minister is responsible for the management and administration of the Civil Service Pensions arrangements.

The Minister delegates this responsibility to the Cabinet Secretary in his role as Accounting Officer for the arrangements.

Section 2.3 - Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Accounting Officer

The Accounting Officer is the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office.

The Accounting Officer has oversight of the Civil Superannuation Vote for the Civil Service Pensions arrangements. The Accounting Officer has to sign a Governance Statement on Internal Control in the Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts confirming the effectiveness of the control framework in place.

Section 2.4 - Civil Service Pensions Board (CSPB)

The Civil Service Pensions Board (CSPB) is responsible for assisting the Scheme Manager (Cabinet Office) in the effective administration of the Civil Service pension arrangements.

The CSPB was created in 2010, and was the first such Board to be set up for a Public Service pension scheme. The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 put the CSPB on a formal legal footing from 1 April 2015.

The CSPB’s principle function is to hold the Scheme Manager to account for the delivery of Civil Service Pension arrangements. They also help to promote high standards of administration through advising, influencing, challenging and assisting the Scheme Manager. The CSPB meets at least quarterly.

Find out more about the Civil Service Pensions Board.

Section 2.5 - The Scheme Manager (Cabinet Office)

The Scheme Manager acts on behalf of the CSPB, and is responsible for:

• Managing the Contract with us, as well as the contracts/service agreements with various other advisers;

• Producing the Cabinet Office ‘Civil Superannuation Resources Accounts’;

• Providing secretariat support to the CSPB and its sub-committees;

• Coordinating risk management of the Civil Service Pension (CSP) arrangements;

• Exercising Scheme discretions reserved for the Minister;

• Operating the second stage of the statutory Internal Dispute Resolution procedure;

• Overseeing the audit programme for the CSP arrangements;

• Guidance and oversight for employers;

• Acting as an escalation route for employers in the event of any disputes that they cannot resolve with us.

Section 2.6 - Participating employers (including Employer HRDs, Payroll, HR and Accounting Officers)

These include:

• Civil Service departments;

• Executive Agencies;

• Schedule 1 employers including Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs);

• Some private sector employers, with employees transferred under the new Fair Deal arrangements.

There are in excess of 200 employing bodies (Government Departments, Agencies, NDPBs and private sector employers) that “participate” or employ staff that are members of the CSP arrangements. Employers’ main roles are:

• To provide us with accurate member data through a monthly interface using their payroll systems

• To pay employer and employee contributions to the Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote;

• Administrative actions when new staff join one of the schemes;

• Reconciliation activities;

• Reporting to the Scheme Manager. In particular, providing Assurance Statements which inform the Accounting Officer’s governance statements in the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts.

Section 2.7 - AVC providers

From 1 September 2018, members can only contribute to either a partnership pension account or CSAVCs. The stand-alone stakeholder scheme is no longer offered. From this date, members had the option of one single provider (Legal & General) for the defined contribution arrangements.

With the exception of members of the AVC scheme who are with Equitable Life, existing members with one of the previous providers moved to the current provider from 1 September 2018 and, depending on which scheme they were a member of, their accrued benefits could be transferred to the new provider.

Prior to 1 September 2018, members could contribute to a variety of defined contribution or ‘money purchase’ arrangements via a number of insurance companies. The providers were:

• Partnership pension account:

  • Scottish Widows

  • Standard Life

  • TUC/Prudential (closed to new entrants)

• CSAVCs

  • Equitable Life (closed to all further contributions with the exception of existing members who have chosen to continue to contribute)

  • Scottish Widows

  • Standard Life

• Stakeholder account

  • Standard Life

Section 2.8 - National Audit Office

The National Audit Office carries out the external audit of the Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts.