Contacting SPPA

PoGee

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Marcon

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

Silvertabby

Marcon said:

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

I'm still in touch with an ex (LGPS) colleague, and she tells me they are having a terrible time.  Urgent cases (retirements, deaths, divorce CETVs) are prioritised, but everything else is on an 'as soon as we get to it' waitlist while they work their way through the McCloud checks. 

She's on the verge of packing it in due to the stress.  

Marcon

Silvertabby said:

Marcon said:

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

I'm still in touch with an ex (LGPS) colleague, and she tells me they are having a terrible time.  Urgent cases (retirements, deaths, divorce CETVs) are prioritised, but everything else is on an 'as soon as we get to it' waitlist while they work their way through the McCloud checks. 

She's on the verge of packing it in due to the stress.  

When I look at the McCloud information being given to scheme members, I can only wonder what possible hope the average (and indeed well above average!) member has of understanding what on earth is going on.

Silvertabby

Marcon said:

Silvertabby said:

Marcon said:

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

I'm still in touch with an ex (LGPS) colleague, and she tells me they are having a terrible time.  Urgent cases (retirements, deaths, divorce CETVs) are prioritised, but everything else is on an 'as soon as we get to it' waitlist while they work their way through the McCloud checks. 

She's on the verge of packing it in due to the stress.  

When I look at the McCloud information being given to scheme members, I can only wonder what possible hope the average (and indeed well above average!) member has of understanding what on earth is going on.

I know.  Unlike some other public sector schemes, when the LGPS switched to CARE we applied an underpin for those over a certain age.  ie, we ran two calculations at retirement, one being a combination of FS/CARE and the other being 100% FS/old rules.  Then automatically paid the higher of the two.

On my time, at least 98% were better off on the FS/CARE option, due to the continuing final salary link for pre 2014 benefits and the much high accrual rates for the CARE element.  Yet, time after time we were yelled at by retirees who wanted their benefits paid under the old rules because they MUST be better.

My ex-colleague tells me that they have to deal with a daily barrage of phone calls from pensioners, demanding to know when they will get their Mc Cloud arrears.  In many cases, there won't be any arrears - but the calculations still have to be done.  And then explain to the pensioners that "no, if you read in the newspaper that ALL pensioners will more money, you either misunderstood it or the newspaper was wrong".

PoGee

Marcon said:

Silvertabby said:

Marcon said:

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

I'm still in touch with an ex (LGPS) colleague, and she tells me they are having a terrible time.  Urgent cases (retirements, deaths, divorce CETVs) are prioritised, but everything else is on an 'as soon as we get to it' waitlist while they work their way through the McCloud checks. 

She's on the verge of packing it in due to the stress.  

When I look at the McCloud information being given to scheme members, I can only wonder what possible hope the average (and indeed well above average!) member has of understanding what on earth is going on.

That's hit then nail on the head - I've no idea what's going on. I'm sure the general fear amongst workers is that they've made it so complicated that we won't know if there's been an error in their calculations. 

Universidad

AFAIK they've missed their deadline for Annual Benefit Statements again.

They had put it back to March 2025, but now I think it's end of May 2025.

Bear in mind that the last statement many members had was in 2022!

hyubh

Silvertabby said:

Marcon said:

Silvertabby said:

Marcon said:

PoGee said:

Has anyone attempted to contact the SPPA by email recently? How long did it take for them to get back to you? I contacted them mid Feb 2025 but haven't had a response other than the generic - 'we've received your query'.

Judging by this Facebook post from November 2024, I can only hope you aren't in a hurry for a reply:

I'm still in touch with an ex (LGPS) colleague, and she tells me they are having a terrible time.  Urgent cases (retirements, deaths, divorce CETVs) are prioritised, but everything else is on an 'as soon as we get to it' waitlist while they work their way through the McCloud checks. 

She's on the verge of packing it in due to the stress.  

When I look at the McCloud information being given to scheme members, I can only wonder what possible hope the average (and indeed well above average!) member has of understanding what on earth is going on.

I know.  Unlike some other public sector schemes, when the LGPS switched to CARE

Not saying you're claiming they do, but SPPA (the ostensive subject of this thread) don't administer the Scottish LGPS, which remains administered by different local authorities like in England and Wales. While SPPA have a role roughly equivalent to MHCLG for the LGPS in England and Wales, they actually administer the Scottish NHS, Scottish Teachers, and (following the SNP's centralisations) Firefighters and Police pensions.

PoGee said:

That's hit then nail on the head - I've no idea what's going on. I'm sure the general fear amongst workers is that they've made it so complicated that we won't know if there's been an error in their calculations. 

Who are 'they'...?  McCloud is a bonus on an already excellent pension engineered by trade unions arguing against the very age specific protections they successfully campaigned for in the first place. In respect of the actual remedy, the 'deferred choice' principle is basically as generous as it could be.

For SPPA specifically, after an unfortunate fling with Capita (*), they have been back with the market leader for admin software in public sector pensions for over five years now. So I doubt there are going to be calculation errors. The main issue is going to be source data, which is something that should be more easily checkable by the scheme member.

(*) Ironically (?) it's almost unarguable that Capita have administered the TPS in England much better than SPPA have Scottish Teachers. But going to them for admin software was a bit insane, if you're familiar with the domain.

Lowtrawler

Universidad said:

AFAIK they've missed their deadline for Annual Benefit Statements again.

They had put it back to March 2025, but now I think it's end of May 2025.

Bear in mind that the last statement many members had was in 2022!

AFAIK, it will be May 2025 for uncomplicated members. For anyone with complex arrangements, it will be later.

My wife did retire and return last year to get her 1995 pension. She has continued in the 2015 scheme. SPPA only advised what her 1995 pension was after she retired and it was wrong. They corrected it a few months later after I pointed out the error. She has been paying into Additional Pension under the 2015 scheme for the past 8 years but her payments prior to 2022 will no longer be valid for the 2015 scheme unless she chooses to role back the 2015 pension transferred to 1995 on retirement. It is unclear how those payments will be treated if she chooses to remain under the 1995 scheme. It means her current 2015 pension value is unknown and because of this complication, she is unlikely to get an Annual Benefit Statement for many more months.

We are in the fortunate position of not intending to retire over the next year but, if we were, the lack of information would make planning very difficult.

Universidad

Lowtrawler said:

AFAIK, it will be May 2025 for uncomplicated members. For anyone with complex arrangements, it will be later.

My sympathies, this is a pretty poor show from a public sector pension provider. AFAIK occupational pension schemes are a reserved matter (not devolved in Scotland), so I really can't see how they're not in breach of the Public Service Pensions Act.

Lowtrawler

Universidad said:

Lowtrawler said:

AFAIK, it will be May 2025 for uncomplicated members. For anyone with complex arrangements, it will be later.

My sympathies, this is a pretty poor show from a public sector pension provider. AFAIK occupational pension schemes are a reserved matter (not devolved in Scotland), so I really can't see how they're not in breach of the Public Service Pensions Act.

I notice on the SPPA site, they say they have provided ABS to all active members by 30 April this year. Some by post and some by email. If you have not had the email, expect something through the letter box in the next few days. Personally, I'm not holding my breath....