Chairman's Update — November 2024
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Aviva Fellowship National Committee
Chairman's Update — November 2024 |
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We held the latest National Committee meeting on Wednesday 13 November remotely using Microsoft Teams,
rather than the usual face-to-face meeting in London. This is less than ideal – one "attending" member
missed the entire meeting because of internet connection issues, and others experienced short "drop-outs".
As chairman, I missed the usual opportunity of talking through key issues over dinner on the previous evening
(lots of one-to-one phone calls instead!), and it is less than easy to chair a discussion when you can only
see tiny images of participants on a small laptop screen.
As before, I am penning this brief update on matters arising from our meeting, in a more digestible and timely format than the official minutes of the meeting, which will be produced in due course, and have also added some other topical information. This meeting began with a farewell and a welcome. Ian Brown, one of the original National Committee members and a former chairman, sadly died in April. He made an enormous contribution to our committee and to Region 1 and the Perth area, and – unbeknownst to most of us – to a wide range of passions and good causes in and around Perth. I gave our condolences and remembrances to Ian's wife Catherine at his funeral. In his stead, we welcomed John Evans, from the Dundee area, as the new Region 1 chairman. Our Pensions
It was confirmed (for any that hadn't seen the September RPI figures) that the "excess" pensions (ie excluding the GMP element) for ex-GA and ex-CU members will increase in January by 2.7% – in line as usual with the September RPI. Pre-1988 GMP elements do not increase at all; the post-1988 GMP elements will increase next April in line with the September CPI, which was just 1.7%. The timing is a little unfortunate here. Government spokesmen lauded the September figures as a triumph in controlling inflation, but most informed commentators recognized them as a statistical "blip", which was confirmed this week by the Office for National Statistics with the October indexes – 3.4% for RPI (and 3.2% for the CPIH, which is the ONS's preferred measure and the probable replacement for the RPI later in the decade), and 2.3% for the CPI. The pension fund's project on the required equalization of GMP benefits is continuing apace – which means that individual accounts are being examined as quickly as possible consistent with the necessary accuracy, but that overall progress is slow – and indeed slower than originally hoped – because of the number of pensioners involved and the administrative difficulty of accessing historical records, which are largely-paper-based. Further complications arise where someone has transferred into the scheme from another final salary scheme or vice versa. Further updates following the GMP mailing earlier this year to all potentially-affected members will be sent in due course, and it is hoped that definitive information will be available for the first tranche of pensioners in the first quarter of 2025. The October budget statement proposed, amongst many other things, that from April 2027 some pensions benefits should be included in an individual's estate, and therefore potentially liable for inheritance tax if this takes the value of the estate above the IHT thresholds. Further information on this will be provided when the legislation is passed and the details are confirmed. There is already a full briefing note on the Staff Pensions website about the Lifetime Allowance (which the previous government abolished in April 2024) and the three new allowances introduced at the same time. All members should have received a letter from XPS inviting them (if, and only if, they wish) to register for "My Pension", a new secure web-based facility through which they can access details about their pension history and update their details. There is an app to access this through a smartphone if this is more convenient, or for those who do not have the use of a computer. The good news is that those who have signed up have not reported any difficulties with the process; the less good news is that the response so far has been quite limited. That's fine if it's because people don't have online access, or are not confident in using it – the existing facilities to contact XPS by phone or letter or e-mail will still be available, whether or not pensioners sign up for the new system. But don't be discouraged from trying it out. Fellowship Issues
All is not lost though, with enough determination, and we had an excellent demonstration of this at the National Committee, where Alan Drury – the Region 4 chairman – was able to confirm that the Manchester committee has just been re-formed [thanks to a great deal of effort on Alan’s part in persuading the new committee members to stand up] – a very nice Christmas present for all our members living in that area who will once again be able to access Fellowship benefits, and encouragement for the rest of us in responding to this constant challenge. On the budget that supports those benefits, you will recall that we set up a working party last year led by Sue Rigott to review the Fellowship budget, which – despite the name – actually includes the costs of supplying In Touch and the diary to all pensioners. If you are opted in for both of these, you will see shortly the first fruits of this work, as the diary is being posted in the same (stronger!) envelope as the Winter edition of In Touch. If this initiative is successful, the savings are estimated to be in the order of £25k. But we want to go further. We are working within a maximum budget limit of £250k, which we are now closer to than a few years ago, reflecting both the impact of inflation and the increase in recent years in the annual lunch subsidy from £5 to the current £15 per head. We know, for example, that some members tell us in conversation that they never use their Aviva diary or that they only read In Touch on the website, but they have not asked to be taken off the circulation list. That is waste – and money that could be better spent elsewhere. Another example is the cost of our annual in-person National Committee meeting in London. We met via Teams this time because of a shortage of available meeting rooms in the new Aviva head office at 80 Fenchurch Street, and that has obviously given a one-off saving in terms of travelling costs and especially overnight accommodation. There is great value in being able to meet face-to-face as a committee though, and the chew over (excuse the pun) any issues at a meal the night before, but we think that substantial savings could be made by holding the meeting elsewhere – perhaps in other Aviva locations. There would be “swings and roundabouts” for individuals in terms of the cost and convenience of travel, but overall should be positive. It would also reduce the “out-of-office” time for the Aviva team of Fiona, Clive and Lesley – no impact on our budget, but I’m conscious that their time is increasingly precious at the moment, not least because of the GMP equalization project. So Alan Drury has agreed to lead a small sub-committee to examine these and other relevant issues with an open mind, and to report back to the National Committee with findings and recommendations next year – and in good time to take informed decisions on how we will allocate our budget in 2026. Certificates of Existence
This specific issue was resolved quickly as soon as he contacted XPS, but it raises an important issue that everyone should be aware of – both to avoid any shock on the receipt of such a letter and to reinforce the importance of responding as quickly as possible, to minimize any interruption to pensions payments. Requests for such “certificates of existence” are in fact standard, although relatively uncommon, and are used routinely by all pension fund trustees (not just Aviva) as part of their fiduciary duties to all fund members; clearly, if pensions continue to be paid to members who have died, that is a minor drain on the fund’s liquidity, and could add to the distress of bereaved family members and/or beneficiaries when the over-payments are reclaimed. They are definitely not scams, and must not be ignored. These letters are sent out automatically, usually in one of two circumstances. The administrators have access to various databases that, for example, hold details of registered deaths, and these might highlight a close (but not necessarily correct) match in terms of name, location and other factors, in which case an alert is raised. The more common red flag is when a letter or other communication is returned as “not known at this address” or otherwise “undeliverable”. The most usual reason for this is that a member has moved home but has not yet advised XPS or Aviva of the new address. Of course in these cases it is likely that the “please confirm your existence” letter will not have been received either, and members may only become aware of the issue through a message from their bank about an overdrawn account or declined payment. All the more reason to let the company know as soon as possible of any new address – something that those that have signed up for it can do quickly and efficiently through the new on-line “My Pension” facility mentioned above. In these circumstances, an immediate “hold” is placed on pension payments until a response is received from the member – or, in sadder cases, their family or other representatives – so it is really important to get in touch with XPS as quickly as possible if you receive one of these letters. It would be sensible to mention to family members as well that letters from XPS are not necessarily “boring” or routine, so should not be put aside to “look at later” or, worse, filed unopened in the litter bin. XPS will lift the “hold” as soon as it receives a response, but there will clearly be some circumstances (for example, if a member is away on holiday or perhaps in hospital) in which one or more pension payments may be missed. As you would expect, the Trustee would in these circumstances reimburse any costs (eg overdraft fees or default charges) incurred because of the payment hold, and would also assist in other matters, such as seeking to correct any adverse marks that night have been placed on credit agency files. Scams and Security
I won’t repeat here the detail from my last update, but will instead mention two recent new scams and a newish tool to fight them with. You have probably seen the fake offer of a free medical kit, allegedly from Aviva Healthcare. It’s easy to see – in hindsight – that it’s too good to be true; but it only takes one person to fall for it and the scammer is quids in. And like most of these scams, they do the rounds as cut-and-paste jobs – I’ve just received one purporting to come from Zilveren Kruis, a Dutch health insurer, so don’t be surprised if you see the same offer from BUPA and the others in due course. And in a different medium, I saw a particularly distasteful text message purporting to offer a last opportunity to get the pensioners’ Winter Fuel Payment “before it is abolished”. Text scams are less common these days as internet-connected smartphones are pretty ubiquitous, but because even genuine messages are just “plain text”, the fake ones can be a bit less obvious. And of course they are focused on the old and vulnerable, who are more likely to rely on texts rather than social media or e-mail. So stay alert. And a useful tool that is now supported by almost all the main banks, plus some newer ones, Nationwide, Visa and BT. If you get a suspicious phone call, hang up and dial 159 – ideally from a different phone or after a few minutes, in case the scammer is keeping the line open. This number apparently cannot be “spoofed”, and is easy to remember as “top left diagonally down to bottom right” on the keypad. It will allow you to connect directly and safely to your bank. More information at stopscamsuk.org.uk. Not everything is a scam, of course, and there can be side-effects from mistaking a genuine communication for a scam – for example, the certificates of existence mentioned above. Two current instances come to mind. Firstly, you may have noticed that some recent letters from XPS have had very “washed out” versions of the usual letterheads. Scammers often copy genuine logos – usually with quite poor resolution – so my suspicions were aroused when I first saw these, even though the content (eg annual pension increase information) was as expected. It turns out, though, that the problem was simply a fault (apparently unnoticed until I mentioned it) in the colour ink tanks at the printing house used by XPS. We were assured that this has now been corrected. Secondly, a minor revision to the Aviva corporate identity is being implemented at the moment – and indeed was apparent in the recent issue of Future Focus. There is no change to the core logo or the (copyrighted) Aviva font; the update involves, rather, things like the position of the logo on documents and the shape and size of any background blocks. But, as ever with these matters, the watchword is – if in doubt, check it out.
24th November, 2024 |