This EPN provides additional information about the Defined Contribution (DC) Transition Project and the actions required by employers.
Timing
1. In EPN 527, we confirmed Legal & General (L&G) as the new DC provider and asked employers and payrolls to initiate change requests to implement the transition to the new provider on 1 September 2018.
2. In EPN533, EPN538, EPN539, EPN542 and EPN545 we provided further information about the transition project and guidance on the actions required by employers.
3. This EPN provides further updates on the transition project.
Master Trust Deeds of Participation (For employers who have active members in the CSAVCS & partnership scheme)
4. In order for an employer to participate in the L&G scheme, they need to complete a Master Trust Deed of participation.
5. In EPN545, we advised that L&G would email the deeds of participation to the registered employer contact by 13 July.
6. L&G have now issued deeds to all employers that have active members in the CSAVCS and/or partnership scheme, and we have received the execution details needed to generate the deeds.
7. If your organisation has members in the CSAVCS and/or partnership scheme and you have not received the relevant deeds please email DC.Transition@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Master Trust – the Process for employers to request participation in the CSAVCS or partnership scheme with L&G after 1 September 2018
8. An employer is required to provide access to Civil Service Pensions’ DC schemes if a member of alpha, nuvos, premium, classic plus or classic, asks to either:
9. If you do not currently have members in the CSAVCS or partnership scheme, and a member wishes to join, you will need to be registered with L&G as an employer. Details of this process are shown in Annex A below.
10. In order to allocate access to the Manage My Submissions interface portal, L&G have issued an e-form alongside the Master Trust Participation deed.
Member engagement - letters to active members from the Scheme Manager
11. We are currently preparing to issue letters to active members of our three DC schemes affected by the transition project. The table in Annex B below, provides a summary of the member categories and the letters we will issue.
12. These members will receive a letter by 14 August 2018. If a member has not received a letter then they should email DC.Provider@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
13. We will issue the initial letter set to members whose plans were in place by 14 June 2018. As partnership accounts continue to be opened, we will issue a further letter set in September to anyone joining after 14 June 2018. Please check the plan opening date before referring the member to the shared mailbox.
14. To support the launch the items noted below will be loaded on the Civil Service Pensions website when we issue letters. We will notify all parties registered on the EPN email distribution list when we have done this.
| Audience | Location | Items |
|
Employer |
DC Employer webpage |
1. Annex B with letter reference codes 2. Letter set 3. News article |
|
Member |
DC Member Webpage |
1. News article 2. FAQs |
Equitable Life
15. As previously noted in EPN539, members of the CSAVCS scheme with Equitable Life are excluded from the transition project due to the guarantees and special terms of their policies.
16. A small number of members are not in receipt of guarantees and special terms, therefore these members will be transitioned. If you have a staff member who falls into this category, we will contact you to advise who needs to be transitioned from the September payroll.
L&G Interface training
17. L&G have designed a bespoke training guide and video for use by participating employers and their payroll teams.
18. Access to the video and training will be provided by an email issued to the key contacts at participating employers on 14 August 2018. The key contacts are those identified during the Deed of Participation exercise.
19. If you do not receive the email by close of business on 14 August 2018 then please email schemesetup@landg.com
Member asks to change their personal contribution to their CSAVCS or partnership plan
20. Currently, the process for members wishing to change their contribution amount is different for members of the partnership scheme and Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS). In partnership, members are required to contact their employer or payroll provider directly, whilst CSAVCS members need to make their request via the Scheme Administrator who will forward it to their employer or payroll provider.
21. As noted in EPN538 we are simplifying this by aligning the two processes. Therefore, from the September 2018 payroll, when a member requests to change their contribution amount they will be instructed to send their request form directly to their employer/ payroll provider for processing.
22. Please update your internal guidance to reflect this change and to ensure members are aware of which department the form should be sent to.
23. A new form designed to cover change requests is attached for your information as Annex C. We will add this form to the DC Member webpage by 10 August 2018.
CSAVCS Member applications
24. The CSAVCS will reopen to new members with effect from
1 September 2018.
25. There will be two changes to the process as part of the transition to L&G:
26. The new application form will be available on the Civil Service Pensions website no later than 10 August 2018. We will notify all parties registered on the EPN email distribution list when it is available.
Items for inclusion in future EPNs
1. Engagement with members about the transfer of existing pension pots.
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Contacts If you require further assistance on the content of this EPN, please contact DC.Transition@cabinetoffice.gov.uk . If you have a question about the distribution of EPNs contact employerpensionnotice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. You can find electronic copies of the Employer Pension Guide, all current EPNs and forms on our website. This notice is for employers and should not be issued to scheme members. If members have a question about their pension, they can find information on this website or by contacting the Scheme Administrator (MyCSP). |