Meet the team: Leavers
For information
This month Team Manager, Matt Woods, talks to us about his pioneering Leaver Team!
What team do you run?
I manage the Leaver team. We provide details of the benefits and options available to members when they leave or withdraw from the scheme.
We aim to provide members with a leaver statement within 20 days and process any refund of contributions within 15 days. By providing the statement quickly, we reduce the number of queries from members direct to the employers.
Can you tell us what you like about working at USS?
I have been at USS for just over five years and have been a team manager for only 18 months, which pales in comparison with the rest of the management team on pensions operations.
USS is the best company that I have worked at as there is plenty of help and support available if required, which is reassuring as a relatively new manager.
Everyone pulls together to provide high standards of service for the members and employers.
Tell us about the role of the Leaver team, what do they do?
The team supports members by issuing early leaver benefits statements. The statements give members a summary of their rights and options as a deferred member.
We provide refund quotations directly to members and process refunds for those that are eligible and elect to take that option.
Some members of the team update and confirm the additional benefits secured for members that have ceased added years or added pension AVCs prior to the expected end date. There is also quarterly processing to provide an advanced reminder to employers that AVCs are due to cease so that they can stop the contributions being deducted.
Who is on your team?
Katie Duffin is the Assistant Team Manager and supports me in managing the day to day operations on the team. John Adair, Zoe Luther, Rowan Hewitt, Isabelle Bartlett, Sarah Mendonca, Shunaria Stubbs, Viki Forsyth and Paul Gleave make up the rest of the team. There’s a range of experience on the team from three months to 35 years at USS!
Everyone is encouraged to provide input to ways to improve operations, which reflects the culture at USS. The balance of experience creates a good dynamic on the team.
It is a fast paced team due to the volume of leavers that we process each year.
What's a typical day like for you and your team?
Each day requires a review of the work that was completed during the previous day and the cases that are due for completion that day. Myself and Katie continually assess the resource we have available on the team and the number of new leaver notifications received.
The bulk of the day is spent on casework, queries reviewing the forecasted volumes of work and attending any scheduled meetings.
Throughout the day we deal with member queries via email and telephone. This could involve assisting members in understanding all of the options available to them or informing them of ways they can self-serve online to obtain pension benefit valuations and projections of benefits.
The busy months on the team are traditionally during the Summer period leading into Autumn with increase in leaver notifications being received between July and October.
To put this into context: in 2018/2019 the team processed 39,585 leaver cases which included settling refunds for 1,227 members.
What’s the biggest innovation you’ve introduced on the leaver team?
In mid-November the way in which the leaver process operates changed. We were the first team in pensions operations to have a partially automated process. We are the pioneers of the department!
Prior to the changes, processing a member as a leaver involved a lot of manual interventions, however with the new process, which automatically updates the members’ records from the HR interface, these manual steps and calculations have been significantly reduced.
This new way of processing has had benefits for the team, the department and also the members.
We have been able to ensure that all members that leave the scheme receive a benefit statement detailing the pension entitlements accrued up to date of leaving. This means that more members are getting full details of their benefits on leaving than before. Not only have we increased the number of benefit calculations that are processed, we have also taken on the additional role of carrying out the AVC updates, relieving pressure elsewhere in the department.
Ensuring that the leaver benefits are updated on member records quickly and accurately helps teams such as transfers out and deferred retirements to achieve their own quick turnarounds and provide information to members. It’s very beneficial to the operation of these teams and ultimately the members.
We work in partnership with employers, do you have any special requests of our clients to make our processes work even more smoothly?!
The partial automation processing heavily relies on timely and accurate data to be effective. By providing us with all correct service / salary and contribution information we can ensure that we provide the benefit statements to the members within SLA.
One of the common member misunderstandings is regarding salary sacrifice. We receive queries from members that are not fully aware of what salary sacrifice is and the implications on their options. It often does not come to light for the members until they have left the scheme. Members who participate in salary sacrifice aren’t entitled to a refund of contributions, so it’s important that they’re made aware of that when they’re enrolled into the scheme.
If our clients have any particular queries, who should they contact?
Any queries can be emailed to LeaverBenefitsTeam@uss.co.uk. The email inbox is managed on a daily basis by a member of the team with quick turnarounds in responses. Alternatively you can call the team telephone number on 0151 556 0621.
And finally... The Quick Fire Favourite Five!
Share with us your favourite:
Film: Little Miss Sunshine
Musician: I have a big soft spot for 70s / early 80s music. My favourite album is by Talking Heads so if I’m picking one musician / band it would have to be them
Drink: Spiced Rum & Coke
Food: Can’t beat a Sunday Roast in my eyes
Holiday destination: I would have to say North Cyprus as that is where my in-laws live