Sutton Council's Pension Administration Performance Sees Significant Improvement
Sutton Council's pension administration has experienced a significant uplift in performance, with outstanding cases dropping by over a quarter in the last financial quarter. Between December 2025 and March 2026, the number of outstanding cases fell from 837 to 604.
This improvement is attributed to a concerted effort by the administration team to clear backlogs, with a real drive in the decrease in outstanding processes
being a key strategy. The team consciously decided not to prioritise overdue leaver cases over retirements and other critical cases. While this decision impacted Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance, it was a deliberate strategy to manage the overall backlog. Performance targets for overdue cases are being met, with no cases remaining overdue by 31 days or more. SLA performance has also seen an increase, reaching 91%, which represents the percentage of cases completed within the agreed service level agreements.
The primary reason for the high volume of leaver cases at the end of the academic year was the influx of school leavers. This cyclical nature is managed by actively prioritising throughout the year, allocating resources to handle the bulk of leavers after accounting for deaths and retirements, and deferring less urgent cases. The typical workload for retirements remains stable at 30 to 40 cases per month, but leaver cases can fluctuate significantly depending on staff movement within schools and employers.
Furthermore, a data improvement initiative has yielded strong results. The annual scheme return to the Pension Regulator showed a 96% score for both common and scheme-specific data. 'Common data' refers to information unique to members across any pension fund, such as national insurance number and date of birth. 'Scheme-specific data' encompasses information particular to the LGPS that requires validation within the system. This has led to the risk rating for data quality being downgraded from amber to green, indicating a reduced likelihood of errors in processing members' benefits. The downgrade implies a reduced likelihood of members' benefits being processed incorrectly.
Overall, this period highlights substantial progress in pension administration, with the team's efforts leading to improved efficiency and data accuracy. Looking ahead, several initiatives are planned to sustain and further enhance performance. The re-procurement of pensions administration software is a key strategic project for the next three years. The data improvement initiative is ongoing, focusing on maintaining data quality and reviewing the data retention policy. Additionally, the McLeod Remedy project is on track for delivery by June 2026, which will involve configuring annual benefit statements and rectifying pensioners' benefits.
The pension administration team is measured against performance targets for overdue cases, aiming for no more than 10% of all outstanding cases to be overdue. They are also measured against cases overdue by 31 days or more, with a target of zero outstanding cases. The 91% SLA performance rate signifies the proportion of cases successfully completed within the established service level agreements.
This progress is detailed in the Pension Administration Performance Update document Pension Administration Performance Update.
