UK – The Church of England Pensions Board (CEPB) is replacing its existing pensions administration system against the backdrop of the new pensions regulations in a bid to save time, cut costs and streamline administration tasks.

Systems provider Comino is currently installing its Universal Pensions Management system (UPM).

Ready for operation in April, the new system will allow the electronic archiving of more than 40,000 existing paper files.

“We were concerned that our employees’ time was being taken up on lengthy administrative tasks, such as photocopying and filming, and that service delivery could be compromised due to the complexity of the arrangements we operate,” said CEPB chief executive Shaun Farrell.

With more than 30,000 fund members, the Board produces thousands of documents ranging from applications to general correspondence every year. The new system, with electronic filing and storage, will provide greater security and save space.

The current CEPB system was installed in 1992, and labelled “fairly elderly” by fund manager Tony Williams. He stated that UPM would give “additional functionality”.

In light of new pensions regulations next year and added complexity, Comino director Mick Jennings told IPE that the company has been approached by at least half a dozen pension funds wanting a system overhaul.

Many more schemes are expected to opt for more flexible and efficient systems once the regulations have been announced.

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