LPPA streamlines admin systems via switch to Civica’s UPM platform

Jo Darbyshire, managing director at the LPPA, told Pensions Expert that the administration is in the process of switching to Civica’s Universal Pensions Management system and expects the new arrangement to be in place by 2022.

We make sure all our transfer teams have checklists and due diligence that they do to make sure they’re identifying that somebody’s money that is being transferred is going to a legitimate place

Jo Darbyshire, LPPA

Civica’s UPM software will replace five existing systems with one integrated workflow platform. 

The system will be used for all of the administration and payroll services that the LPPA provides for its clients, and will supplant current systems provider Aquila Heywood.

“We called off the Norfolk Framework for pensions administration software to procure and a mini-competition was run between Aquila Heywood (our incumbent provider) and Civica. From what we know about Civica’s UPM functionality, we expect to see lots of benefits,” Darbyshire explained.

Civica’s cloud-enabled UPM software will help improve member and employer experience across the organisation via increased digitisation and automation to modernise services, Civica said. 

The administrator added that its five-year, £3.6m contract with the LPPA will offer value-for-money administration software and build an innovative digital platform for future growth. 

Darbyshire said the system that is currently in place does not interface very well, which is one reason for the change. 

She explained that the newer system, to be implemented by 2022, will come with several features that can be “plugged in” to help from an anti-fraud perspective.

Although Darbyshire said that fraud was not as common as people may think, she noted that there has been an increase in the level of sophistication of scams, particularly when it comes to pension transfers. 

She cited the example of a fake company that she had come across recently, which looked very much legitimate until fine details such as company number and email domain were checked and did not add up.

Measures to help prevent future scams

Darbyshire noted that the LPPA is now seeing the fallout from transfer scams that took place years ago, before current due diligence processes were in place, and outlined some of the anti-fraud measures the LPPA is now taking to prevent future scams.

“We were the first organisation to join the Pension Scams Industry Forum,” she said.

The forum was set up in November 2020 by the Pension Scams Industry Group to help pension schemes, companies and individuals better understand the techniques and approaches scammers use. 

Furthermore, in April this year the LPPA signed a pledge set up by the Pensions Regulator to help combat pension scams.  

“We make sure that all our transfer teams have training in terms of how to recognise potentially suspicious transfer schemes… they have checklists and due diligence that they do to make sure they’re identifying that somebody’s money that is being transferred is going to a legitimate place,” Darbyshire explained. 

“The ultimate sanction is that we can refuse to transfer if we believe that somebody has been scammed.” 

She hopes that the new system will help to increase the number of members who are online, and the use of digital ID verification will help improve their security and reduce any possible transfer scams. 

Currently, 37 per cent of the LPPA’s members are online, which Darbyshire described as fairly typical.

She concluded that it was up to administrators like herself to help members understand why being digital is important and showing them the benefits.