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We are delighted to announce that following a competitive tendering process, we have appointed Barnett Waddingham as the Fund's new actuary as of June 2024.
They are a leading independent UK professional services consultancy at the forefront of risk, pensions, investment, and insurance. During the tender process a number of actuarial companies bid to become our actuaries. This tender process included assessing services to employers/Board/Committee/Fund, actuarial approaches, knowledge of the Fund, it's demographic and cost - ultimately, we felt Barnett Waddingham met our criteria the closest.
Barnett Waddingham are delighted to have been appointed to deliver actuarial, benefits and governance consultancy services to the Wiltshire Pension Fund and we are looking forward to a successful partnership. We will be working closely with the Fund to ensure a smooth transition and to provide the best possible service for the Fund employers and members in the future.
What is the role of an actuary?
An actuary plays a critical role in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). They are responsible for:
Calculating employer contribution rates by analysing the financial health and future liabilities of the Fund.
Taking into account investment returns to ensure the Fund has sufficient assets to meet its liabilities.
Providing strategic advice to manage financial risks and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Fund.
Barnett Waddingham have more than 1,750 people in nine offices including Cheltenham and have 99 partners. They have both private and public sector clients and includes 25% of FTSE 100 and over 15% of FTSE 350 companies.
Melanie Durrant FIA, CERA- Partner
She is a recognised expert in her field, being a regular speaker at industry events, representing Barnett Waddingham on a number of external committees related to the LGPS and writing articles and press comments. Melanie qualified as an actuary and a risk actuary (CERA) in 2011 and was awarded Actuary of the Year in 2019 by the Actuarial Post. She provides regulatory, valuation, employer and accounting related advice, delivering high quality work with a focus on excellent client service.
Chris Morton FFA- Associate and Senior Consulting Actuary
Chris specialises in actuarial and benefit consultancy services for public sector pension schemes across the UK, primarily the Local Government Pension Scheme. Chris's main role is advising LGPS Funds with setting and monitoring funding and risk management strategies, as well as providing support on employers entering / exiting the LGPS, bulk transfers, annual accounting disclosures and other ad-hoc projects. Chris has worked in pensions and wider employee benefits for over 22 years.
Hagen Eichel FFAPhD- Senior Consulting Actuary
Hagen works as senior consulting actuary on a wide range of Local Government Pension Funds. He supports the Fund Actuary in providing funding and valuation advice. Hagen provides a wide range of actuarial advice to the participating employers in both the English and Scottish LGPS funds. This includes individual employer funding and accounting advice as well as other ad-hoc pieces of work required by these funds and their employers. Hagen joined Barnett Waddingham in 2015 and qualified as an actuary in 2021.
Lucy Byrne - Actuarial Support Manager
Lucy joined Barnett Waddingham in 2017 and has nine years of pensions and risk experience including five years of LGPS experience. She manages the day-to-day activities for a number of Local Government Pension Funds and will be the first point of contact for any employer related matters.
Jeff Houston - Principal and Senior Pensions Consultant
Jeff provides expert advice and guidance on public service pension regulation and governance. He regularly assists on all elements of scheme design, governance reviews, employer issues and decision-maker education. He has extensive knowledge of Public Service Pension primary and secondary legislation, experience of directly influencing pensions policy and the legislative process and, experience of guidance and training for LGPS decision makers.
Jeff has over 40 years of experience in the LGPS in a variety of managerial and director level roles, including 11 years at the Local Government Association as Head of Pensions and 6 years as secretary to the LGPS England and Wales Advisory Board. He joined BW in 2022.
We look forward to working with Barnett Waddingham utilising their expertise and tailored approach to successfully manage the Fund, helping to ensure we meet our obligations to both members and employers.
*Text from image above: 1.Stable and affordable contributions, 4. Employers are advocates for the scheme, 9.Safeguard the assets, 15. Transparency and information sharing, 16. Compliance and best practice.
1.When will the change occur?
The Fund appointed Barnett Waddingham as our new actuaries from 1st June 2024 however, as there will a lot of information to exchange between our previous actuaries Hymans Robertson and Barnett Waddingham in the transition period, we've agreed an extension to Hymans Robertson's contract.
2. Why have you decided to move away from Hymans Robertson?
The actuarial contract was coming to an end therefore a competitive tender process took place and a number of actuarial companies bid to become our actuaries. This tender process included assessing services to employers/Board/Committee/Fund, actuarial approaches, knowledge of the Fund and it's demographic and cost - ultimately, we felt Barnett Waddingham met our criteria the closest.
3. Will there be a handover from Hymans Robertson to Barnett Waddingham of our historic information?
Yes, the Fund are currently working with both actuaries to ensure all the relevant information is exchanged as part of the transition period.
4. What impact will this have on my organisation's employer contribution rate?
The Fund's objective is to achieve stabilised employer contribution rates and this was considered as part of the assessment in the tender process. The next triennial valuation is scheduled for 2025, for setting employer contribution rates from 1st April 2026. There will be a number of checkpoints and opportunities during the valuation process for you to discuss your contribution rates with the Fund and actuaries however, just to re-iterate, our objective is to stabilise employer contributions as much as possible.
5. Will the change in actuary cost our organisation more in actuarial fees?
Costs were considered as part of the assessment in the tender process and our aim is to not increase costs and in fact, we are looking to reduce these with smarter and more efficient processes. We will continue to quote any costs to you before any actuarial work is undertaken.
6. I submitted a request for an actuary report or final accounts prior to the change, what will happen with this?
We've asked Hymans Robertson to complete all work submitted prior to 1st June 2024 so this will be unaffected. Any new actuarial work will be undertaken by our new actuaries Barnett Waddingham.
7. Who will undertake the July and August 2024 accounts exercises?
The Fund have decided for efficiency to you and to allow our new actuaries to "bed in", that Hymans Robertson will still conduct the July and August 2024 accounting exercises. Thereafter, Barnett Waddingham will undertake this work.
8. Will this change affect how employers are assessed at the triennial valuation and/or when a new company joins e.g. catering or cleaning contractors?
There will be a number of checkpoints and opportunities during the triennial valuation process for you to discuss your contribution rates with the Fund and actuaries however, our objective is to stabilise employer contributions as much as possible.
The Fund's default position is that any outsourced catering and cleaning contracts from academies, is via passthrough arrangements and as such, there will be no changes to this.
