Employer Bodies
A current list of employer bodies can be found in the latest Annual Report.
Employer bodies within the Wiltshire Pension Fund fall into four main categories:
Scheduled Bodies
In the Wiltshire Pension Fund, these are the County, District and Unitary Authorities, the Police Authority, the Fire Authority, City Academies, etc. The eligible employees of these organisations have an automatic right to be in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), so these bodies do not need to apply for admission.
Designating Bodies
In the Wiltshire Pension Fund, these are typically Town/Parish Council. Employees have the right to be members of the LGPS, as long as their employing Council has resolved to allow membership. Subject to this, admission to the Fund is automatic for the employer.
Community Admission Bodies (CAB)
These are typically charities or other public sector bodies and they have a “community of interest” with local government. These bodies have no automatic right of entry – they are required apply to the Fund for admittance.
Wiltshire Council’s Chief Financial Officer has delegated responsibility for approval of admission agreements with Community Admission Bodies (regardless of the number of scheme entrants) where:
- they arise from transfers of existing LGPS scheme members (either in the Wiltshire Fund or another LGPS Fund); and
- the original scheme employer (or another local authority with a “community of interest”) provides a guarantee to the Wiltshire Pension Fund of equivalent security to that which would have been given under the Regulations had the admission been a Transferee Admission Body.
Applications from potential Community Admission Bodies which do not satisfy the terms above, but where the expected active membership within the Wiltshire Pension Fund at the date of admission would be at least 10 people, will be decided by the Wiltshire Pension Fund Committee assuming the applicant satisfactorily passes the risk assessment set out below:
For officers to bring a positive recommendation to the Wiltshire Pension Fund Committee, the risk assessment described below needs to yield sufficient satisfaction that the admission of the applicant would not bring significant additional risk to the Fund:
- Does the potential CAB have a guaranteed income stream over at least 5 years sufficient to cover its projected expenditure after allowing for reasonably foreseeable risks (eg. such as higher than expected inflation)?
- Is the guaranteed income stream from a public body?
- If so, who is it?
- If there is no guaranteed income stream over at least five years, is there is a local authority that would be prepared to act as a guarantor for the potential CAB?
- Does the organisation have a risk register (compulsory under the Charities SORP) and if so, does it suggest that the organisation understands and knows how to manage its risks? Are there any risks apparent that could impact upon its ability to meets its obligations under an Admission Agreement with Wiltshire Pension Fund?
A tripartite admission agreement must be signed by the admission body, the original scheme employer and Wiltshire Pension Fund for the admission to become active. This places legal obligations on all three parties, but responsibility for most risks falls on the admission body (investment risk, bond yield risk, inflation and pay award risk, longevity and regulatory risk, etc).
In certain circumstances, the original scheme employer may agree to give the Pension Fund a guarantee to make good the liabilities of the admission body in the event of its failure.
Transferee Admission Bodies (TAB)
These are typically private sector companies or charities. They will have taken on staff from a local authority as a result of an outsourcing of services and the transferring employees had a right to remain in the LGPS or a “broadly equivalent” scheme. These bodies have no automatic right of entry, they are required apply to the Fund to gain admittance.
Wiltshire Council’s Chief Financial Officer has delegated responsibility for approval of all admission agreements with Transferee Admission Bodies.
A tripartite admission agreement must be signed by the admission body, the original scheme employer and Wiltshire Pension Fund for the admission to become active. This places legal obligations on all three parties, but responsibility for most risks falls on the admission body (investment risk, bond yield risk, inflation and pay award risk, longevity and regulatory risk, etc).
Under the LGPS Regulations, in all cases the original scheme employer must provide a guarantee to the Fund to make good the liabilities of the admission body in the event of its failure. In addition, the scheme employer will often require an insurance-type bond to protect it against certain liabilities (particularly the immediate retirement of over 50s) in the event of the admission body’s failure.
Application for admission to the Wiltshire Pension Fund
Any organisation wishing to discuss joining the Wiltshire Pension Fund should contact our Employer Relationship Manager, Andrew Cunningham.
Wiltshire Pension Fund, Wiltshire Council - Bythesea Road,Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JJ.
© 2009 Wiltshire Pension Fund.