WYPF in healthy state

Every three years WYPF is 'valued' to check that the fund has enough money. A valuation of the fund was carried out at 31 March 2001. And it has shown that the fund is in a healthy position, well able to meet its commitments to all the members of the pension scheme.

The Fund's actuary, William M Mercer Limited, carries out the valuations. As part of the valuation, the actuary also re-sets the employers' contribution rates. For this valuation the actuary has specified a slight increase in employers' contributions.

The main reasons for the increase to employers' contribution rates are: people are living longer and are receiving their pension for longer; and future investment returns for the fund may be slightly lower than they have been in the past. The contribution rate you pay as a member does not change. Your contribution rate is laid down by the scheme's regulations.

WYPF Best Value report published

WYPF's service has been highly commended by the Audit Commission's Best Value inspection service. Like all local authority services, WYPF is now subject to full Best Value review every five years, with planned continual improvements closely checked in the intervening years.

The report from our first review has officially recognised WYPF as a good service that should keep getting better. Best Value reports give services a star rating that starts from no stars for a poor service and goes up to three stars for an excellent service. We were awarded a two-star Best Value rating.

The report, which was published late last year by the Audit Commission's Best Value inspection service was the culmination of over two years' work by our staff, Bradford Council staff and the Best Value Inspection Service themselves. The report said that the continual improvement plans that we had in place were likely to keep us towards the top as far as our quality of service is concerned, and should make sure we stay one of the most cost-effective pension funds to run.

WYPF Chairman, Councillor Bob Sowman, said, "This is a great result for WYPF, particularly as it comes from a very robust process like Best Value. It's a good testimony to the commitment and dedication of all the staff at WYPF."

Independent Ill-Health assessment strengthened

One of the main features of the Local Government Pension Scheme is the cover it provides for members who have to retire because of failing health. Now the DTLR has introduced new rules to make sure ill-health retirement is the right decision.

Of course, it's never welcome when an employer has to consider someone for ill health retirement. And with the retirement pension, at most, only half the member's working pay, it's important that the decision the employer makes is the right one.

When an employer is considering a member for ill-health retirement, they arrange for the member to be examined by an occupational health qualified doctor who tells the employer if they meet the criteria for ill-health retirement. The 'medical' helps the employer decide whether or not to retire the member.

In the past, the doctor who did that medical examination for ill-health retirement was often the same doctor who had been advising the employer on occupational health matters. Now the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) has introduced new rules into the Local Government Pension Scheme to make it clear that the doctor who advises an employer about a member's ill-health retirement must not have previously been involved in the case.

This independent view will ensure that a decision to retire a member on ill-health grounds is always the right decision.

AVCs at your fingertips

If you are paying into the WYPF AVC Plan with Scottish Widows, you can now check your AVCs on the Internet whenever you like. First, go to www.scottishwidows.co.uk to register. Scottish Widows will then send your security details by post.

Backdated membership for part-timers

Preston case update

In May 2000, the European Court of Justice made a decision in an important case for pension schemes called the Preston Case. The case was about people who were kept out of pension schemes because they worked part-time. Or more importantly, if the two-year limit on backdating imposed by UK law was legal under European law. The European Court decided that this time limit wasn't legal.

But because the decision went against UK law, the European Court actually passed the decision back to the House of Lords to decide how UK law needs to change to take account of the European Court's decision.

Last year the House of Lords decided that in some cases, membership of pension schemes can be backdated as far back as 1976. The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) is responsible for the LGPS legal scheme rules. The DTLR will have to make changes to the LGPS rules to incorporate the House of Lords' decision. But before they can do that, they must wait until four public-sector test cases have been heard at the Nottingham Employment Tribunal.

The Nottingham test cases are scheduled to be heard in June this year. Once those test cases have been heard, and the DTLR have announced the changes to the scheme, rest assured, we'll let you know.

Does this apply to you?

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Spring 2002