I am currently engaged in a contract where the HR department is reviewing a whole bunch of its internal processes, including the administration of a defined contribution pension scheme.

I am amazed by the amount of paper based forms the department is filling in for their pension provider (starter, change, leaver etc), all by hand and often providing them information that should already be on their files (i.e. – looking up all contributions for the year and filling them in). In return we receive no high-level contributions summary, although we do get reams of paperwork on the annual contributions of each individual in a huge folder.

The scheme is run on a fixed (employer) contribution basis, with employees able to make AVCs and a board of trustees overseeing things. There are about four fund options for employees that have performed below par in recent years.

Do any HR Zone members simply outsource this activity to their payroll provider? Do any of you get a more proactive service with regards to contributions (vis a vis fund value) from your pension provider? Are your communications with your pension provider also laborious and paper intensive?

I’m curious, as this is a new area to me.

David Faik