Why pension administration needs a more connected approach

Each scheme may have different structures, contribution arrangements, investment choices and reporting requirements. Administrators must maintain member records, process contributions, manage investments, produce valuations and statements, reconcile transactions and respond to employers and beneficiaries.

When these activities are spread across different systems, spreadsheets or manual processes, routine administration becomes more time-consuming and difficult to control.

The cost of administrative complexity

A pension administrator may be responsible for thousands of beneficiaries across numerous schemes and employers.

Behind each member record sits a considerable volume of recurring work. Data must be collected and processed, contributions recorded, investments updated, valuations produced and financial transactions reconciled.

Where these tasks rely heavily on manual intervention, costs can rise alongside the number of schemes and members being managed. Teams may also spend time re-entering information, comparing records between systems or resolving discrepancies caused by data being updated in one place but not another.

Automation can reduce this repetitive work, but it is most effective when scheme, member, investment and financial information is managed within a connected system.

Employers expect easier access

Pension administration also involves an ongoing relationship with employers and their HR teams.

They may need to update member information, retrieve reports or check details relating to an individual beneficiary or the wider scheme. When they cannot access this information directly, even routine requests must be passed to the administration team.

Providing authorised HR users with secure access to relevant member details and reporting can reduce duplicated administration and allow pension professionals to concentrate on work that requires their expertise.

Members want greater visibility

Beneficiaries increasingly expect to be able to access financial information online rather than waiting for periodic statements or contacting an administrator.

Secure pension portals can give members direct access to their pension details, investment information and scheme progress. This improves transparency and convenience while reducing routine information requests.

The member experience is now an important part of the overall pension proposition. It is influenced not only by the structure and performance of a scheme, but by how easily beneficiaries can understand and access information about their pension.

Maintaining financial control

Although member and employer access is increasingly important, effective pension administration still depends on robust financial management behind the scenes.

Administrators need oversight of contributions, investments, transactions, banking, reconciliations and accounting records. They may also be responsible for managing the structures behind a scheme, including trusts, unitised funds and contracts.

Keeping this information connected to the relevant scheme, employer and member records provides greater visibility across the administration process. It also allows valuation statements and transaction reports to be produced more consistently, without information having to be compiled manually from multiple sources.

Supporting sustainable growth

For pension providers looking to grow, an important consideration is whether their administration model can scale.

Adding another scheme or employer should not require teams to recreate processes or establish another collection of disconnected records. Equally, an increase in beneficiaries should not automatically require a corresponding increase in repetitive administration.

The right technology can provide a consistent framework for managing different schemes, employers and beneficiaries while still supporting variations in contributions, investments, structures and reporting requirements.

A more connected approach with AcuPen

AcuPen has been developed to bring these different elements of pension administration together.

Part of Vega Technology’s Acumen suite, it enables pension administrators and corporate pension providers to manage multiple pension schemes for different employers from one connected platform.

Scheme and member records, contributions, investments, transactions, valuations, accounting and reporting can all be managed centrally. Routine activities, including data acquisition, statement production, banking and reconciliation, can be automated to reduce repetitive work and improve consistency.

Pension Web Portals give beneficiaries access to their pension information, while authorised HR teams can maintain relevant member details and retrieve reports without relying on administrators for every request.

AcuPen also supports the wider back-office requirements of pension administration. Its General Ledger provides comprehensive financial administration capabilities, while trust and company secretarial functions help organisations manage scheme structures and statutory obligations. Integrated time recording and fee billing provide additional visibility over work undertaken, costs and profitability.

A stronger foundation for pension services

Pension providers need to manage growing volumes of information efficiently while maintaining control and delivering a responsive service.

Bringing scheme, member, investment and financial administration together can reduce duplication, strengthen oversight and help pension teams manage growth without continually adding manual processes.

As part of the wider Acumen suite, AcuPen combines specialist pension functionality with the security, scalability and management controls required by organisations operating in complex and highly regulated environments.

The result is a more efficient back office and a stronger foundation from which to serve employers and pension beneficiaries.

Discover how AcuPen can help simplify pension administration and provide greater oversight across your schemes.