AVC mess

Chloe_G

I applied to the LGPS to start an AVC last summer paying in £500 per month. They passed the forms to my employer who received them on 1 August. 

Nothing was deducted in August as I had 'missed the payroll cutoff'.

Nothing was deducted in September 'sorry it was their oversight'

A deduction was made in October. Towards the end of October, I received an urgent message from the payroll asking for the AVC account number as they 'couldn't find it'.  I gave them the account number, however in November I discovered that the AVC provider had closed my account as nothing had been paid in since the account was opened in August. The October deduction of £500 is still missing.  The AVC provider issued a new account number.

November - deduction was made and paid into the AVC new account number in early December.

December - deduction was made but has not reached the AVC provider.

So basically I expected to have £2500 in my AVC by now with deductions starting in August but I only have £500 in there plus a missing £1000.

I have sent emails to the payroll throughout this period asking for explanations and they have either remained unanswered or been answered with a range of excuses mixed with a few apologies.  Despite all this my balance still remains at £500.  I don't know if I should flag this up with my LGPS admin team or escalate this complaint higher up with my employer.  It just seems a completely ridiculous situation caused by the incompetence of the payroll team and very frustrating.

JoeCrystal

Not necessary. There has been posts about LGPS AVC providers having issues. Who is your AVC provider in this case?

On-the-coast

I’ve had a couple of AVC providers and 2 different payroll administrators over the years.  It’s always taken about 6 weeks for the deduction from my salary to be visible in my AVC, so although frustrating part of your problem may be down to normal delays in the process - which of course does make it very difficult to know when things are working as they should after changes. 

I’ve also had a few AVC contribution amount changes processed incorrectly and have to go chasing, so I do feel part of your pain. 

ussdave

As hinted at by JoeCrystal, Prudential in particular appear on these boards a lot.  Quite a few people have had issues that have taken well over a year to resolve.  On the bright side, Pru do seem to issue compensation if you complain through the official channels.  

Marcon

Chloe_G said:

I applied to the LGPS to start an AVC last summer paying in £500 per month. They passed the forms to my employer who received them on 1 August. 

Nothing was deducted in August as I had 'missed the payroll cutoff'.

Nothing was deducted in September 'sorry it was their oversight'

A deduction was made in October. Towards the end of October, I received an urgent message from the payroll asking for the AVC account number as they 'couldn't find it'.  I gave them the account number, however in November I discovered that the AVC provider had closed my account as nothing had been paid in since the account was opened in August. The October deduction of £500 is still missing.  The AVC provider issued a new account number.

November - deduction was made and paid into the AVC new account number in early December.

December - deduction was made but has not reached the AVC provider.

So basically I expected to have £2500 in my AVC by now with deductions starting in August but I only have £500 in there plus a missing £1000.

I have sent emails to the payroll throughout this period asking for explanations and they have either remained unanswered or been answered with a range of excuses mixed with a few apologies.  Despite all this my balance still remains at £500.  I don't know if I should flag this up with my LGPS admin team or escalate this complaint higher up with my employer.  It just seems a completely ridiculous situation caused by the incompetence of the payroll team and very frustrating.

I'd do both. This has gone on too long and is a real pain for you.

cloud_dog

Chloe_G said:

I applied to the LGPS to start an AVC last summer paying in £500 per month. They passed the forms to my employer who received them on 1 August. 

Nothing was deducted in August as I had 'missed the payroll cutoff'.

Nothing was deducted in September 'sorry it was their oversight'

A deduction was made in October. Towards the end of October, I received an urgent message from the payroll asking for the AVC account number as they 'couldn't find it'.  I gave them the account number, however in November I discovered that the AVC provider had closed my account as nothing had been paid in since the account was opened in August. The October deduction of £500 is still missing.  The AVC provider issued a new account number.

November - deduction was made and paid into the AVC new account number in early December.

December - deduction was made but has not reached the AVC provider.

So basically I expected to have £2500 in my AVC by now with deductions starting in August but I only have £500 in there plus a missing £1000.

I have sent emails to the payroll throughout this period asking for explanations and they have either remained unanswered or been answered with a range of excuses mixed with a few apologies.  Despite all this my balance still remains at £500.  I don't know if I should flag this up with my LGPS admin team or escalate this complaint higher up with my employer.  It just seems a completely ridiculous situation caused by the incompetence of the payroll team and very frustrating.

Obviously, it is your local payroll who have completely balls things up and created a right mess, causing you all the problems.

Unfortunately, if it is Prudential then I feel for you regarding the missing £1k.  They were (are?) a basket case since their new IT system (c. 2019 I think?).  They 'lost' one of my contributions (£3k) and I had to jump through soooo many hoops to get it back (at one point I was second guessing my own sanity on the subject), and it took almost a year of providing all sorts of evidence etc before they eventually credited the missing contribution.  They also paid out some compensation, but I would have preferred to live without the stress and doubt during that period.

Chloe_G

It's Standard Life.  I wish I had never started the AVC now.  I believe the issue lies with an incompetent payroll department but it's very frustrating that they don't seem interested in sorting out the problem.

AlanP_2

We are/were with SL for our AVCs.

Payday last of the month, showing in SL online portal by 7th of following month so they are very efficient in my experience.

daveyjp

The issue looks to be with an incompetant payroll department and not the AVC provider.

Raise it with the Director reaponsible, the Chief Exec and your Union.