Responsible for all the interactions for the first part of the member journey when a new member joins the Fund. These include:

• Club transfer in (eg Police, Fire, NHS).
• Interfund transfer in - this is where a member transfers benefits from another Local Government Pension Scheme into the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).
• Internal transfers - where a member has already built up a pension with GMPF and can now link this to their new continuing employment.

Responsible for all the interactions the Fund has with our members whilst they are actively contributing to the Fund. These include:

• Members who wish to top up their benefits and pay additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) or additional pension contributions (APCs).
• Advisor letters for active members.
• Producing the annual benefits statements (ABS) for active members.
• Completing the annual allowance (AA) checks each year and issuing a pension saving statement to members who exceed the AA and processing any scheme pays requests for active members.
• Autoconcurrents (less than two years in the Fund with 30 days or more overlap).
• Concurrent transfers (more than two years in the Fund with 30 days or more overlap).

Responsible for all the interactions the Fund has with our members when they leave the Fund with a benefit on hold entitlement and whilst they continue to hold this benefit with GMPF:

• Calculating the member’s benefits on hold at the point of leaving (including providing the member with details of the AVC benefit they have accumulated).
• Calculating revised pays as and when these are received.
• Advisor letters for members with a benefit on hold entitlement.
• Members who leave with no benefit entitlement (less than two years) and should therefore receive a refund, transfer out their benefits or link their benefits to an existing record with GMPF.
• Producing the annual benefits statements for members with a benefit on hold entitlement.
• Completing the annual allowance checks each year, issuing pension saving statements for members who exceed and also applying any scheme pays where required for members with a benefit on hold.

Responsible for the interactions the Fund has with our members who have left the Fund prior to retirement. The key areas the team will cover are:

• External transfers out.
• Interfund transfers out (to another LGPS Fund).
• Club transfers out (eg police, fire, NHS).
• Pension on divorce including applying a pension sharing order when received (for all types of members).
• Members who leave with no benefit entitlement (less than two years) and are offered a refund.

Responsible for processing benefits on hold retirements to members that have left or opted out of the LGPS before their retirement age.

Responsible for the processing of retirements, estimate requests and enquiries from financial advisers for contributing members.

Responsible for:

• calculating benefits following the death of a scheme member
• dealing with death benefit estimate requests
• answering general enquiries about death benefits, including death in service enquiries.

Responsible for the payment of all pension benefits and all tasks connected to those payments.

Responsible for:

• admitting new employers
• any changes in an employer’s structure that may affect their admission
• termination of employers from GMPF.

Responsible for:

• employer training
• employer monitoring
• employer contact maintenance
• general enquiries from employers.

Responsible for all bulk data received and sent to employers. This includes:

• i-Connect and monthly returns
• unitisation data for the actuary
• valuation data for the actuary.

Responsible for:

• providing support in the implementation of new systems
• improving internal processes
• procurement
• contract management
• providing training and communications on these developments.

Responsible for:

• providing support to the referees for formal IDRPs
• reviewing complaints and issues and providing support and advice to employers and staff
• ensuring Altair results also comply with regulations
• attending meetings and providing support /guidance on larger projects such as McCloud, the Exit Cap, and the Pensions Dashboard.

Responsible for providing first, second and third line support of all hardware and software including the Pensions Administration System (Altair). The team are also responsible for the implementation and maintaining of new systems.

Responsible for the GMPF website including online forms, promotional materials, social media, and member newsletters and annual statements.